Breaking Through Reality
by averyenture
Summary: What would you do if you were sent to the Fairy Tail world? Join the guild and live happily ever after? For Aspen, that was the plan, but when you're forced to fake amnesia and must survive in a world of magic with a crowbar as your only weapon, things tend to get a little out of hand. OC. -ONGOING HIATUS-
1. Getting To Know The Protagonist

Hello, random visitor! Now, before you begin reading, I would like to send a few warnings your way.

This story contains a heap of random (yet somehow plot-connected) antics, such as life-threatening grocery shopping, falling through roofs, excessive cursing, temperature and feline allergies, obsession of bacon, failure-prone heroines, pedophile-like villains, an inconvenient lack of magic, and let's not forget the daily dose of crowbar-induced kick assery.

For the sake of surprise, all pairings in this story will be undisclosed. However, I will say that OC x OC, OC x Canon, and Canon x Canon pairings are included. Oh, and several love triangles, too, of course.

Chances are we just lost half our readers due to the mentioning of OC's, but at least I warned you, right?

Although, admittedly, the pairings themselves are not quite set in stone. For example, I'm not even sure who our main character is going to end up with. I'm basically coming up with the story as I go, so who the hell knows what will happen. I'm sure we'll all end up being surprised.

As the story goes on, I will occasionally come back and edit the previous chapters to my liking. I am still in the process of early revision, but do not be surprised if you come back to see some **major** changes.

Like I said, I am still editing, so the earlier chapters are not...the best I have written. I ask of you to give the story chance and read till the end. Perhaps you will find that you like _Breaking Through Reality_ more than you thought.

And, more than anything, I will personally make sure that there are NO Mary Sue's here. _None_. I hate them as much as you do! My main, number one goal is to make this story's heroine as Anti-Sue as possible.

Now that the warnings are out of the way, please enjoy the story.

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><p><em>Disclaimer for the series: averyenture does not own Fairy Tail, its characters, or its plot. Nor does she own the seven lovely OC's that were sent to her for this story. She only owns her character, Aspen, and whatever more may come in the future.<em>

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><p><em><strong>My rule of thumb for surviving is to always remain a little insane. Of course, mind you, that does not mean holding the mentality of a patient in a mental ward. What I mean is that everyone should dribble at least a bit of far-fetched fantasizing and irrational thinking into their brain, otherwise we'll all fall ill to this plague called reality. Realism, as you know, can be a real bitch, and over-exposure can lead to fatal consequences. That, I know firsthand.<strong>_

_**Where the heck am I going with this, anyway? Well, I'll tell you where I'm going with this. You are about to hear the story-a strange, tasteless, and incredibly sluggish story-of a reality-dodging girl, and her venture to another universe. I make it out to be much more elegant than it actually is.**_

_**So, are you ready?**_

_**Neither am I.**_

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><p>I've always had a difficult time accepting the cold hard facts of life. For instance, I spent the entire fourth grade telling everyone my real name was Rose Petal and that I was actually a pirate princess from Bolivia, and that my parents had just kidnapped me as a baby. My mom and dad weren't too happy to hear about <em>that<em> at the Parent-Teacher conferences.

Put in the simplest of terms, I was horrible at accepting reality. I had always been a fantasizing kid, and I guess the fantasies and make-believe stories took over, at some point. My childhood consisted of sweet nothings and misleading fairy tales, hopeful encouraging to become the best I could be, lies that painted a false picture of the world. While the other children had outgrew their fantastically twisted images of life and became adults, as they should, I clung to them like they were my appendages. What was a world without magic, or miracles, or princesses, or love at first sight, or happy endings? I denied every iota of the real world that was presented to me. So I guess it was no surprise that I'd had an especially difficult time surviving in the fiery battlefield that was reality.

And on that slow-moving sunny day, I was no different. At the grade level of a Sophomore in highschool, you would've figured I'd have realized that magic was not real, no Prince Charming was going to sweep me away, and there were no such thing as miracles, and I would have moved on, just like every other human being. But alas, I hadn't. Sitting there in the hallways of Eaglewood High, alone as usual, I was a girl that had endured a life of aimless fantasizing, bullying, high expectations, and disappointment, and I didn't expect that Thursday afternoon to be any different.

I never even saw it coming.

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><p><em>Hungry.<em>

_Hungryyy._

_Oh GOD, could I use some food right now. When was the last time I ate? Last night? Oh my God, I'm going to starve to death, why the hell did I not grab that granola bar this morning. Stupid, stupid._

_I can feel my stomach concaving from the sheer hunger. Is this how I'm going to die? Lying here, alone, in the middle of the school hallways? Will anyone even care of my death?_

_Oh, but seriously, I would really, really love for a fresh plate of bacon to fall into my hands right now. Nice, crispy bacon, right off the griddle, crackling and ready to dive into my stomach-_

"Hey, girl. What you doin' over here?" I blinked rapidly at the unexpected intrusion. Realizing how entirely spaced out I was, I adjusted my posture and removed the drool from my mouth. I craned my neck up to see dyed blue hair framing a foundation-caked face. Oh, it was her. Jaymie Portillo was her name, and she was my temporary, unofficial fake friend. Her only use in my life was to help me come off as a person with actual friends. Don't get me wrong, though; the use was mutual. Ever since she lost her posse of comrades after sleeping with the English teacher, she'd come scrambling to me. I sometimes wondered how it was possible that I was the only one that had a social standing as low as hers. Is that how far I had fallen?

"Oh, hey, Jaymie..." I nervously looked down at the crappy yet extravagant doodle of Laxus, a doodle that especially emphasized his chest area. _Especially. Emphasized. **Chest area.**_ Hurriedly and clumsily, I scrambled to crunch up the paper and tuck it deep within the fold of my textbook, sending a prayer to God to make sure she did not catch a glimpse. Later mourning for the ruined work of art would be appropriate.

Oh, and did I mention? I was, to put it lightly, consumed by the world of Fairy Tail, at that time. Fairy Tail was a manga/anime that I had discovered months earlier and fell in love with, especially the characters. I had managed to watch all of the current episodes in a matter of days (the anime was now on the Oración Seis arc), and I even took a peek at the manga. So far, I couldn't decide my favorite characters-they were all just lovely. But I had a special fondness for the bad boy Laxus. I had a thing for bad boys, admittedly, so I practically fell for him right then and there when he'd started chaos during the Fighting Festival arc. I also cried when he was excommunicated. To keep him in my memories, I spent time drawing pictures of him and the others, which were completely innocent and non-revealing, I swear, ahah. Ha. But thanks to my infatuation with the show, it was all I could think about those days. I often imagined myself being a wizard in the guild. I wondered what magic I would have-probably something super badass, like a Light Dragon Slayer or a Bacon Dragon Slayer, or something cool like that.

Jaymie quirked a slender eyebrow at me, her lips twitching into a smirk. "Oh, so you're ditching class now? Didn't know that you had it in ya, kid. Then again, you are a total loner in that class, so I get it." Her voice giggled, laced with an innocent teasing. I grunted and let my eyes close at the speed of Internet Explorer's browsing.

Honestly, the both of us had already realized and accepted the fact that were mere tools to each other. I didn't get why she insisted on pulling that bogus act of kindness and friend-esque playfulness.

Though she did have a point. I was in, or meant to be in, Science class, which happened to be my all time worst subject. At the time, I was too naive to realize that skipping class would only worsen my grade. But even so, to avoid utter shaming of the social studies, I avoided attending class and simply burrowed myself in a pit of boredom and loneliness while sitting by my locker.

"Yeah, well, don't you have an English class to be in?" I said dully, trying to shoo her away.

"Mmm, yeah, but I don't really feel like dealing with Coli-er, Mr. Eckels right now." She pursed her lips into sour pout, fiddling with the bejeweling on her shirt. "He's been so annoying, lately!"

"You did sleep with him. It's going to be awkward no matter what."

"Huh, whatever. I'm going to fix my makeup." With a vicious, runway swirl, Jaymie strolled away from me, leaving me to my wallowing.

After double-checking that I was alone, I pulled out the crumpled piece of paper and sadly observed the drawing. Folds and rips adorned the previously flawless image of Laxus, and his decked-out pack was now distorted and angled. With an internal prayer of goodbye, I pick up my things and stuff it into the garbage as I begin to trek the halls. It was almost time for next period.

Unfortunately, every single day occurred just like this. Some uneventful courses here, ditching of classes there, and of course the belittling of myself everywhere, and you have a day in the life of me. Speaking of which, I never officially introduced myself, did I? Aspen Kosub, failed human-being extraordinaire.

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><p>It was that time of the day again. The dreaded, dreaded span of time that I'd always tried to avoid, but ever could escape.<p>

Math class.

The foulness of it all had little to do with my actual mathematical talent. I fact, I wasn't half bad, as I knew my equations quite well, and found algebra to be a breeze. It had to do with my loner situation, obviously, but that little gift was also accompanied by my great honor of having Mr. Harvey as a teacher.

He was a large, hairy man, swollen in figure, with a fondness for ridiculing his students. Me, in particular.

I took it upon myself to daydream about Fairy Tail during his teaching sessions. Granted, it didn't exactly help boost my grade, never watching the lessons, but it was totally worth it, in my opinion. I cheerfully thought of the badass Natsu and the bubbly Lucy, thinking about how cute they were together. Oh, and Erza and Jellal-ahh! So cute! And Juvia and Gray...well, they weren't exactly cute, but they were definitely made for each other. And _don't even get me started on Levy and Gajeel._ I had paired together almost every single character, except for Laxus...okay, I admit, I daydreamed about him being with me, okay!? Sue me! The guy is a friggin' dreamboat!

But anyways, that day was just another day. I'd resided to my typical seat in the far, shadowed corner of the room, completely stray from the other students. Just the way I preferred it to be.

I was nodding off already, my head bouncing up and down every now and then as I failed to stay conscious, dreams of the guild luring me to sleep. I was oblivious to the fact that I was about to become the center of Mr. Harvey's tormenting.

"Aspen, dear, why don't you answer question thirty-four for us?" He crooned. I swore, I could the vibrations in the air as two dozen heads whipped my way. I let out an inhumane noise of surprise, looking owlish as my words tripped out in a stumble.

"Eh, ah, 'old on...wha?"

Harvey's face seemed especially crinkled in that moment as he smiled wryly, a deep huff of a chuckle escaping his lips. "Question thirty-four. Answer it. You do know how to do it, right? Surely you do."

I ran my hand down my face slowly, stretching out my features. _Is this guy serious right now?_ I glanced at the door, only feet away from me, and wondered if I could maneuver myself around the desks, maybe use some of the heads as stepping stones, in order to escape.

Alas, the spotlight was on me now. It was no time to embarrass myself. I had to show everyone exactly who they were messing with.

"Che. Of course I do, Mr. Harvey. What, do you think I'm some kind of idiot?" Perching the glasses on my nose up a notch, I carefully observed the question I'd been assigned.

"Ha. Easy. H equals negative three to the square root."

"Uh, no. That is completely wrong. I don't even know how you came up with that. The answer is h equals nine and three tenths."

A thunderous boom of snickers exploded. I glared at Harvey furiously, though he seemed untouched.

"Seems like someone needs to be brought back to the sixth grade. Do you even know your basic math?" I grit my teeth, tightening my fists. I'd had enough with him. I shoved my chair out and stood up abruptly, pointing an accusing pencil at the teacher.

"Well, if YOU weren't such an asshole of a teacher, maybe I'd finally be able to learn a little!" I roared, silencing the classroom easily. I smirked, daring Harvey to even attempt to send a comeback my way. "Not so cocky now, are ya?"

Harvey stared at me, frozen, most likely utterly shocked by my bold burst of insulting words. But I definitely did not expect him to smirk, all the same as me. "If that's the way you feel, then I suppose you don't want to be in this class anymore, do you? Better yet, I'll just fail you altogether. After all, you think I'm an asshole, right? Well, let's see what you think of me in summer school. I'm sure your opinion will be deepened. Don't you agree, class?"

My jaw fell. I rummaged through my brain, desperately searching for something, anything, to say back, but there was nothing. I just stood there like a fool, wordless.

"Oh, and one more thing. Aspen?"

I managed to find a reply to that, at least, albeit being a shaky one. "W-what?"

"You put your blouse on backwards today."

I looked down. And by God, he was right. I'd been wearing my shirt backwards all along, and no one had bothered to inform me. A red hot slur of wrath sprung from within. Little specks of nonsense lined my vision, and I hardly knew what I was doing, only that I was doing it. I jumped onto the desk and let out a warrior cry, first chucking my pencil at Harvey, and then jumping and mauling him altogether. It took six boys to pry me from Harvey's fallen body, and although I had put up a mighty struggle, not much damage had actually been done. Hell, there wasn't even a scratch or bruise on his body, besides the faint lead mark the pencil had left on his new shirt. I hoped that the lead had somehow entered his system and he would get lead poisoning.

As I walked past various pities and sympathies while being escorted by Mrs. Erin, a staff member, to the office, she'd tapped me on the shoulder and quietly mused, "Sorry, sweetie, you got the bark and the bite, but're missin' the sting."

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><p>I'd sat in the office for a while, with a miscellaneous dozen screaming and scolding my behavior that was unacceptable. I didn't pay much attention to them; all I could think about was how hungry I was. <em>Some bacon would be really nice right now<em>, I'd thought as I was told of my week long suspension.

Now that I think about it, I suppose that my constant punishments were well deserved.

After the staff concluded that a good, long suspension would suffice, they recommended sessions of therapy and sent me on my way. In most cases, any other student would have been expelled, but ever since grade school my parents had been enticing the school boards with countless donations of money in order to keep me out of trouble. The only time that the technique failed to work was a few years ago, when I'd been kicked out of private school for brawling with an upperclassman.

Eh, they were stuck-ups, anyway, my parents had said. I could tell they were only trying to make me feel better about it._ But this time, I don't think it's gonna go that way..._

Speaking of which, the school had been eager to reach them in order to let them in on my outburst, but both of my parents worked, so I didn't expect them to answer. Messages to both of them were left on the voicemail and would later be heard, I was sure, but at least I didn't have to face the wrath until then.

I smugly paraded out of the office just as the sweet, life-saving chime of the day's end rang, and a ridiculously large clutter of students flooded the hallways. I took a sharp turn, choosing to leave through the fire exit, choosing to avoid anyone that could have possibly heard of my mathematical emotional breakdown. Which would probably be everyone.

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><p><em>Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, right foot, oh wait, no, that's not right, left foot, ri-AHH OH NO AHHH-left foot, right foot...<em>

I was balancing on the cemented curb of the sidewalk, sticking my arms out and stepping in a routine manner, occasionally losing my balance and being inches away from landing on my face and eating dirt.

Due to grades that didn't reach my parents' expectations, they had downright refused to allow me access to a vehicle. And since both of them worked, I had no way home other than to walk. I usually tried to keep a positive mindset about it and just think of all fifteen calories that were burned with each stroll. I was _so close_ to skinniness, I could taste it in the pounds of bacon I consumed daily.

I sighed as I walked about the street. Back then, I not only sported glasses and a horrible nest of hair, but I was chubby, too. My cheeks still held baby fat and my body resembled a soggy bag of rice. I suppose it made sense why I was picked on, I was the perfect target for bullies.

_Oh well. School's over, for today, so I get to go home and sleep!_

But it wasn't over, yet. Oh goodness, no.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a deep black Ford Mustang begin to pull up to me at a very slow pace. The Jaws theme began playing in my head. I knew what was coming.

"Hey, look, it's Ass-Pen~!"

My step-by-step walking declined. My blood flow turned cold as a defensive iciness glazed over me, and my heart began to slack on its beating. I lashed my body around, face holding a dangerous evil.

"Nick Porlú."

With his window rolled down, the caramel blond sat happily in the drivers seat as he twitched his pale lips upward. "That's right~ You remember~ Good girl. What're ya doin' here, 'Pen. Still haven't gotten your license?"

Nick and I had quite a past. We'd known each other since we were in grade school, and he'd always been on top, while I'd been down at the dirty, dirty bottom. He'd seen me at my worst, and he'd seen me at my best, however measly a best that was. Any chance of me having fun on the playground, he'd be sure to crush with his stupid, dirt-caked, stubby fingers. I didn't know what I did to him to have him hate me so much. It's just how some people are, I assumed. He was just another naturally-born bully. A bitter piece of what made the world it was. You just had to live with it.

I rolled my eyes behind my lenses, sticking my hands into the pockets of my jeans. "None of your business, blondie."

He chuckled, his voice like buttercream frosting on a moist yellow cake. I tightened my jaw, looking away from him. That was another thing-I'd had various feelings of attraction to him, ever since we first met. Whether it was his picture perfect appearance or his adorable way of being an asshole to me, I'd become putty in the palm of his hands. There were many, many crushes that I'd carried over the years, but Nick was always one of them. Of course, expectedly, he'd always be quick to reject my confessions.

"So, I heard about your incident in math."

Pangs of embarrassment stabbed at me repeatedly, causing my dignity to bleed out and die on the cold, hard, nonexistent floor. I shouldn't have been surprised; rumors in that school spread like lightning strikes: fast as all hell.

"Oh. Right. That. Ha, that was ages ago," I said modestly. "Harvey had it coming to him, in my opinion, but whatever."

Nick sighed, looking at me in pity. "Poor, poor little Ass-Pen. Don'tcha realize that what you're doing is only ruining you more? Everybody already hates ya, and now he staff will, too. 'S what ya get for bein' a little bitch."

I craned my neck so my line of sight would meet his, and a dark atmosphere filled the space between us.

"Now you listen here, Porlú," I hissed, rolling my sleeves up to my elbows and approaching his car. "You can either sit in there and talk smack like some girl, or you can come out here and we can settle this like men."

I smirked, knowing there was no way that he would do it._ Nick couldn't hit a girl if he tri-oh God, what's he doing. He's actually getting out of the car, oh my God, couldn't he tell I was bluffing?!_

He swung the car door open, elegantly stepping out, his stout build and height advantage very apparent to me.

"Oh, uhm, you know, it's-it's kinda dirty over here, don't wanna dirty your shoes, you should probably go back-"

He ignored me. "What're ya gonna do, punch me? Didn't go too well with Harvey. I'd like to see ya try."

My eyes scanned his large image as I struggled to meet his eyes. Unsure of what to do, I simply guessed that maybe if I only pretended to get ready to strike, he would run back into his little Mustang scared stiff. _Yes, yes, of course, that has to work. Genius, Aspen._

I stuck a fist in the air and proudly said, "Alright, I will-oh, shit, arghh!" My feet had succumbed to the evil tripping of a suspiciously lone pebble on the floor, and my body was sent flying into Nick, and before I even realized it, flesh hit flesh, bone struck bone, and there was a terrified scream erupting from beneath me. I gingerly looked down to see Nick crushed beneath my body, his face looking slightly bruised. Horror hit me as I realized...

"Get off! Get OFF OF ME, FATTIE!" Albeit he struggled, Nick managed to remove himself from beneath me, huffing and puffing as he backed away from my fallen self. "I can't believe it. Ya actually came at me."

I gasped, shaking my head repeatedly and sputtering nonsense. "Uh, no, nooo, uhshmh, that's, nope, I did, no, uh, ho, no.."

He straightened himself, flinging his hair from his face. "Well, I commend ya for ya bravery, but now I'm gonna havta kill ya."

_Oh my God, he's going to kill me, what DO I DO?!_

"Come 'ere!" He spat, nearing me with a muscular claw stuck out. I shrieked and crawled backward, but to no avail. He caught me by the collar of my jacket.

I squirmed and my arms and legs flailed as he attempted to keep me still. "Quit movin', ya brat!"

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME, I'M ONLY SIXTEEN, I HAVE A FUTURE AHEAD OF ME!"

As I gave him my pleas and still tried to escape, my foot took a wrong turn and slipped, hitting him in the groin. Nick's face twisted into a lollipop swirl of pain and suffering. I gaped breathlessly, going pale.

_I. Am. So. Dead._

He sent me a look of sheer hatred, and I could see the evil flames growing in his irises. I cowered, knowing what was coming.

_Slap._ A quick but sharp sting met my left cheek, sending my face flying to the side. My glasses had slid off my face, landing on the ground next to me. Ignoring the pain in my cheek and the tears growing in my eyes, I reached for them like a child, but Nick held my hand back.

"Oh, hell no, ya don't," he said, holding my wrist back as he stood up, walked to where they fell, and crushed them without hesitation, shattering the lens completely under his shoe. Just for show, he twisted his foot a little, breaking them further. I stifled a series of complains and blubbers.

Nick picked up what was left of my precious glasses, placing them in the palm of my only thing he said was, "stupid bitch..." as he walked back to his car and drove away without a care. I fingered at the crippled lens and knew there was no hope for recovery. They were gone. I held them to my chest, and a tear slipped down my cheek in anguish, and even more fell at the loss of the glasses. _Goodbye, glasses_, I thought sadly. _You were a good friend..._

...and then I broke into full-on sobs, hiccuping and choking and being a visual and mental mess right there on the sidewalk for all passersbys to see. "DAMN YOU, NICK!" I bawled. "DAMN YOU!"

After spending some time crying my tear glands dry, I picked my body up from the floor, wiping the moisture from my face and nursing to my reddened cheek with one hand and sticking the trashed glasses into a pocket with the other. Looking up at the road before me, I realized that I was running late-my parents were probably home, at that point.

_So, a suspension and a broken pair of glasses. Mom and dad are going to murder me. There's no way I'll make it to tomorrow._

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><p>I droned at the sight of my house, its fanciful pearl coloring and elegant marble structuring, obnoxious pillars lining the way to the doors. Every other house in this neighborhood had the same look.<p>

My family was actually pretty wealthy. My father was a pilot, my mother a...oh, what the hell it called, the person that gives anesthesia before surgery...oh yeah, she was an anesthesiologist. She constantly tried to get me to memorize the term as a kid, but even now it occasionally slips my mind. According to her, she made more money than my dad did, so she'd always tease him about it. I countered back by saying a pilot was way cooler.

With that being said, I grew up being spoiled rotten, and their expectations for me were unbelievably high. Don't get me wrong, my parents were in now way the stereotypical strict and harsh parents-they were kind and loving people. I often wondered how such indefinitely successful people such as them got stuck with someone like myself-a fat, stupid, obnoxious, lonely teenager. In my opinion, it just didn't add up. Speaking of which, to say that they were unpleased with my rebellious self would be a major understatement. They tried to hide it, but every day I could see it in their faces; they were so disappointed in me.

I tiptoed along the neatly-kept cobblestone trail and opened the door to my house. "'M home!" I called out uneasily. "...anybody home?"

A reply ceased to reach me. I sighed in relief to know that I was alone.

As I began to slip off my shoes and set them by the door as usual, a midget-sized human rushed at me from the shadows.

"Oh, crap-!" I was tackled to the floor, my breath being knocked from me.

"Pickle!" Chirped the young beast that was my little brother.

"H-hey, Nolan." I grunted. That was Nolan, my feisty younger sibling. Everyday when we came home it was like that, with me as Calvin and him as Hobbes, where he would jump me like that of an alleyway mugger.

_Oh, what a delight it is to be a called a pickle after a day of utter hell. Really, just what I needed, you brat._

No matter what I pretended I thought about him, I loved Nolan more than anything. He was my best friend, in a sense, despite him being three years old. He could annoy the hell out of me, but I really did love him. He had been the anchor to my hell of a life for a long time. Besides, he was the only person I knew who didn't have an opinion on my looks or my grades or my success. Nolan liked me for me. No one else had the honor of saying that.

"Hello, Aspen. How was your day?"

I flinched. Out of nowhere came my mother. I was expecting to her lash out on me immediately, but she seemed to be feeling mildly pleasant as she stared at me, looking for an answer. She must not have gotten the school's message yet.

"You know, the usual." I said, knowing she was probably less than eager to hear about my social troubles. I flung my backpack to the side and tried to flee to my room. But it was too late, for she had already noticed.

"Wait, what happened to your glasses?" She ran over, cupping my face and searching for them, as if they'd been hiding in my hair or something.

My mouth bent awkwardly as I struggled to invent an excuse. "Uh, it's nothing, I just...I-I was gonna drink from the water fountain, but I missed and...my glasses...broke...in the water fountain. The water fountain broke my glasses."

She began to speak more, but I ran off before she had the chance.

* * *

><p>When I got to my bedroom, I took my glasses and placed them on the top shelf of my dresser. It wasn't like I would be using them again, but I didn't have the heart to throw them away, either.<p>

My room wasn't a swamp of misplaced clothes and junk, but it was not clean, either. Mistreated shirts lay scattered in impossible places and shoes of all sorts stuck out of nooks and crannies. My bed was, of course, terrible undone, with purple blankets sloppily thrown about. I quickly changed into a comfy pair of pajamas and flopped into bed, the coziness lidding my consciousness shut.

* * *

><p>"Pickle?"<p>

...

"Pickle?"

...

"PICKLE!"

I felt a faint burn in the side of my face for the second time that day as someone attacked it repeatedly. "PICKLE! WAKE UP!"

I grudgingly awoke, removing my brother from my head. "Nolan," I cooed sweetly. "WHAT DO YOU WANT."

"Ma n' dad want you." He said innocently. That most certainly got me fully awake. My eyes widened and I gulped; I had completely forgotten. They must have got the voicemail.

I braced myself for bloodshed and made my way downstairs, towards my certain death.

* * *

><p>"Aspen. I think you know why we've called you here..." My father began, pacing slowly. He must have just gotten home-he was still in his uniform. My mother stood to his side acting as his accomplice, eyeing me evilly.<p>

"Uh," I wiggled my fingers behind my back, an obvious sign of guilt, "nope. Not really."

My lie was pitifully transparent. Dad rolled his eyes, not in the mood for games.

"Please, don't try to lie your way out of this one, Penny. Your father and I got the school's messages. We know what happened in math."

I craned my neck, staring at the ceiling to avoid looking at my mother.

"Okay, okay. Fine. I'll admit, it's true, but you gotta believe me, ma, that asshole deserved it!"

"Watch your language, Aspen," said my dad sternly. "And no, no matter how mean your teacher is, you are not allowed to attack him! What, are you trying to become a savage?"

I crossed my arms, puffing out my cheeks. I was desperate to escape the scolding.

"Are you listening to me, young lady? You already go kicked out of private school! What were you thinking, they could have expelled you! What would you have done then, huh? You need to start thinking like an adult and get your head out of that fantasy world of yours!"

"I-I'm sorry, 'kay? I didn't mean..."

"I don't know what to do with you anymore," sighed my mother. "You're such a disappointment, Aspen. Bad grades, no friends, you don't have a future."

It was silent among the three of us, for a moment. I briefly questioned if this was a dream. I managed to find my voice, and I softly spoke, "Okay. I get it. I understand why you're mad, I'd be pretty pissed, too, if I had me as a daughter."

I expected them to reply, but they wordlessly pierced me with their frowns. I took that as a sign the conversation was over. I stumbled backward, grasping the staircase.

"W-well, I think I'm gonna go to bed, s-so...yeah. Bye." I ran up as fast as I could.

And I didn't look back.


	2. Is This The End?

Shortly later, I had resorted to my bedroom switched into my pajamas and made myself cozy. Sinking into the thick fluff of my mattress, I decided to take a nice little catnap to clear my mind of the day's happenings. It seemed like that was the only way to stay sane those days; ignoring reality and hiding in my own little dream world. Daydreaming was a lot easier than actually dealing with people, that was for sure. I often wondered if I would ever actually grow out of the habit; after all, I had to mature and grow up someday.

Right?

Suddenly, Nolan burst in, causing me to grumpily awaken and question him. "What, Nolan?"

He told me that mom and dad needed to see me, and I reluctantly agreed. I ran downstairs, only to see both of my parents staring into my soul.

"Aspen, would you like to explain why we just got a call from the school?"

I raised my eyebrows. _A__h shit, what did I do this time?_ I panicked mentally as I gave a confused expression.

"Uh, what?"

My dad narrowed his eyes. "We got a call from Mr. Jordan, your math teacher, about what you spend you're time doing in math class. Daydreaming, is it? And now you don't even know how to do the math because you never pay attention!" He sounded so out of character, I was a bit more than intimidated. My mom was no better.

"Dammit, Aspen! Is there anything you CAN do right? Your grades suck, you have no friends, you're one of the most unsocial people I've ever met- I just don't get you! There is something seriously wrong with you!" My entire body went numb at those words.

First Nick, now this.

_She...she seriously just went there, huh. _I felt pathetic as tears were beginning to pool. I failed to defend my case, hiccups beginning to bubble in my throat. "But-but I..."

"Just go to your room. I don't want to see you again today." My father finished, both of my parents walking away as it were nothing.

I trembled as silent tears streamed down my face in a broken pattern. Biting my cheek as hard as I could, I stomped up the stairs and slowly walked into my room, slamming the door shut and locking it. Instantly, I fell to my knees.

_It's...it's not fair. It's just not fair._ I shook my head in frustration.

I just don't get it. Why the hell did God make the world this way? Making it so humans have to suffer, have to deal with the damn injustices and assholes of the world...heh, well, I guess that's just reality for you.

I stood up with a new found confidence, wiping away the tears with the sleeve of my shirt. "Well god damn it, I'm DONE with reality. I'm ending it; here and now." I spoke aloud, my voice dry and emotionless. It was decided. I was ready to go out with a 'bang'.

* * *

><p>After all these years of pain and tears due to the mistreatment around me, I had never gathered the courage to kill myself. No matter how much I wanted the pain to disappear, I couldn't bring myself to give up. My pride held me back from ever quitting. But now..now, even my pride agreed with me: it was over. I was over. I needed to do this. Enough was enough. I couldn't deal with this world anymore, I just wasn't strong enough.<p>

I stared at the bottle of pills in my hand, shaking it around lightly and stirring the contents within. Some over-the-counter prescription medicine I found in the bathroom. 'If I take enough of these, I should be out in no time.'

"So this is it...No backing out now, I guess." I took a deep breath. As my hand reached for the cap, I saw a fast, white blur dash across the room and to my window. My eyes went wide as I set down the bottle, going to investigate. "The hell was that?" I scanned my eyes around the window, to only find nothing. But I could of swore I had seen...

Out by the roof, the white blur flew by again leaving a trail of milky glow behind. I furrowed my eyebrows, set on finding this thing. Stepping over to the wall, I opened the window and climbed out, tiptoeing along the roof carefully. The soles of my feet scraped against the rocky covering beneath them as I stumbled around, and I let out an annoyed groan. No sign of the thing so far.

"Aspennnnnnnnnnnn!"

I squeaked, my entire body jumping as I heard a faded whisper graze my ear.

"What the hell was that?" I backed up, only to trip over a tile. I lost my balance and felt my weight doom me and screamed as my body fell backwards. Then I got the horrifying sensation of free falling, my stomach falling to my feet rapidly as I fell from the three story rooftop. My eyes were shut tight as I waited to hit the ground, waited for my death.

It never came. In fact, it was sorta as if I was still falling.

I finally opened my eyes, seeing through slits that I was no longer falling fromthe side of my house, but in fact was surrounded by pure, blue, open sky. That was NOT there before! I panicked, my screams worsened.

The more I looked, it was like I was above some sort of town, with mini houses consuming my vision. OKAY THAT WAS SO NOT POSSIBLE. I was just on the roof of my house a minute ago! I looked below, only to find, to my utter horror, some huge, regal building. Right below me. It grew closer and closer by the second. Oh shi-

CRASH!

The next thing that happened was rather confusing, and even now it hurts me _physically_to think about. As my body crashed through the roof of the mysterious building, I expected full on pain, a pain worse than anything I've ever experienced. After all, I did just fall through a roof from how many feet in the air.

But it wasn't so bad. In fact, I've felt worse pain then that.

Regardless, I had connected head first with the ground; hard. Everything went blank from there and I fell into an abyss of black space.


	3. WTF x10

I hope I didn't make anyone OOC, this is my first time doing fanfiction! Oh, and this story will take place after the Oracion Seis arc!

* * *

><p>~Fairy Tail Guild~<p>

The birds were chirping and the grass was green on that fine day in Magnolia. Joyful villagers roamed the streets, browsing shops and chatting amongst themselves.

The guild, Fairy Tail, was rather peaceful today, which was a pleasant surprise. Members joined each other for a nice, chilled ale and subtly celebrated the absence of the classic trouble makers, Nastu, Lucy, and Happy.

The celebrating was entirely short lived as said three came strolling through the guild doors.

"We have returned!" The one and only Natsu Dragneel said with a grin on his face, his hair ruffled into a bed-head style. Happy the cat floated about him, 'Ayeing' here and there. A worn out Lucy Heartfilia exhaled, smoothing out tangles and fluffing down her clothes. Natsu was always there to give them the roughest jobs available. Which always led to her being completely filthy when they made their return. Ick.

Gray Fullbuster, the ice mage, swirled around in his stool, rolling his dark eyes. "Nobody cares, pinky." he replied coolly.

"Shut it, frosty!" Natsu shouted, getting up in Gray's pale face.

"You trying to start somethin'?"

"Hell yeah!"

And with that, the two boys tore at it, launching at each other, dust stirring up around their feud. As they tussled, Gray was slammed into an unsuspecting Lucy, causing them to fall to the floor.

"AH! GRAY!" She struggled to get the shirtless teen off of her, but a certain love-obsessed water mage took care of that. Juvia Lockser. She tossed Gray back to Natsu rougly and glared at Lucy.

"LOVE RIVAL!"

"I'm not your freaking love rival!"

Elfman Strauss, self-proclaimed manly man of Fairy Tail, then joined the bunch. "Real men don't fall on top of pretty girls!" He flew a giant fist at Natsu, who grabbed it and whipped Elfman around. Natsu then released him, sending the giant man into a very pissed off Erza Scarlet.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Everyone in the guild stopped and paused to fearfully stare at Erza. "Stop with the fighting before I make you!" Everyone muttered various apologies, until an unfortunate man tripped, falling onto Erza, ripping the tip of her favorite skirt. Furious, the Queen of the Fairies round house kicked him with a war cry, triggering the fighting once more.

"Geez, can't this guild just relax for once? The fighting is ridiculous!" Lucy groaned.

"Yeah," Wendy, the Sky Dragon Slayer replied happily. Why she was so happy in such a situation, no one would ever know. The noise and ruckus of the fighting got louder and louder, until...

"Hey! Do you guys hear that?" Someone called out, making everyone turn silent. "I think...I hear someone screaming. Up there!" Every head turned upwards, confirming the noise. It was quite faint, but indeed there. The sound of a person screaming slowly made their way toward them.

"AH~!"

A shouting blur tore through the roof, crash landing into the floor. Hard. It was possibly the awkwardest 5 seconds of silence ever as the guild waited for the mysterious person to move. They remained frozen, sprawled out on the floor, limbs inelegantly tangled and all.

Gray decided to be the first to talk. "Uh...what just happened?" There were murmurs of 'No idea' and 'I dunno'.

The ever motherly Mirajane ran to the figure."Are they dead?" She asked, slightly afraid to touch the person.

"Let's check!" Natsu pulled his foot out, ready kick the figure.

The blonde spirit mage popped up, shooing Natsu off. "Don't kick them! I'll check their pulse," Lucy grabbed a frail, tiny hand of the unmoving body. She could feel the faint pitter pattering of a heart.

"Good, they have a heartbeat. Guys, come help me flip them over." Natsu and Erza flipped the delicate body over so they could see the mystery face, and everyone examined what they found.

It was a girl; that was for sure. She had a relatively average sized body, but with the attributes of a child's. She wore pajama-esque clothing, and her hair was a dark brown, and its style somehow managed to be untouched during the fall, as her long bangs were held to the right side of her face with a pin.

Her face was accompanied by a large, bleeding, probably very deep gash on her left cheekbone, earning it sometime during the fall.

The eardrum-shattering snore producing from her confirmed she was unconscious.

"W-whoa..." Lucy breathed, looking at the mysterious yet loud teen in her hands.

"Should we take advantage of her?" Wakaba joked, but retreated with his hands up when the girls glared venomously at him.

Erza brushed the specks of dirt and wood from her face. "She doesn't look too hurt, but we should wrap her up just in case, especially this cut. Would someone inform the master?" The redhead picked up the surprisingly heavy body, but easily being able to carry it to the medical room.

"I can't believe she just crashed through the roof like that. What do you think could have happened to her?" Lucy asked, feeling sorrow for the girl. "The poor thing must have been scared out of her mind!" Everyone nodded as they watched her leave. She definitely had some explaining to do when she woke up.

* * *

><p>As I woke up, I honestly thought I was dead. And I was quite satisfied that that <em>lovely<em> experience hadn't been for nothing. But then, as I looked around me, I sadly realized I was in a hospital room of some sort. Alive.

"Well. This is awesome," I muttered darkly. I tried to put the pieces of my memories back together.

...I was about to take the pills...I saw the blur...went onto the roof...heard a whisper...tripped and fell off the roof...and then...!

I remember falling for at least a full minute, and then seeing myself in a different place! HOW THE HECK DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN.

I face palmed, cursing loudly. _Alright, that couldn't have been real. There's no way. Hm...I know. I bet I just hit the ground, passed out, and dreamed all that crap... but I still distinctly remember falling through the roof of that building! It sure as hell felt real!_

"UGH! THIS IS WAY TOO CONFUSING."

After half an hour of fighting with myself, I came to the conclusion that I did, indeed, imagine all that falling through the sky crap. My parents had probably found me and took me to here, a hospital. But...where was all the equipment and staff?

I groaned, this day was _so_ not going as planned. _If my parents find out I tried to kill myself, then I'm screwed. I'm gonna have to go through counseling and therapy and GOD imagine what people at school will think..._

"Stupid roof tile...if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be in this situation right no-" I cut myself off as I noticed something beyond disturbing. This room...wasn't normal. It...just didn't look right. I couldn't put my finger on it, but _something_ was most definitely off here. I glanced at the blanket I was under, and gasped dramatically.

_No...Way...THIS BLANKET IS...IT'S...A DRAWING...A CARTOON! WHAT THE HELL._

'Twas true; the white blanket I stared at was most definitely not real. It held absolutely no texture. Just a blob of various shades and tones of white, outlined neatly with black. My eyes scanned the room, and from what I could actually see, everything else was like that as well.

_This whole god damn place looked JUST. LIKE. AN. ANIME...wait...don't tell me..._

I very, very, very slowly lifted my arm, and my eyes turned into moons. My hand was the same color as before, the golden olive shade. But like the blanket, it was just color. No texture. My finger and hand prints were now gone completely and only black lines and squiggles were there now. It looked exactly like an anime hand.

"Oh, I see you're awake. Hehe, about time. But from what I hear, you hit your head pretty hard." I was _almost_ too bewildered to notice the semi-familiar voice. But I noticed it alright. I shakily lifted my hand from my face, only to confirm the holder of the voice.

Sweet Jesus.

It was none other than Makarov, the infamous guild master of Fairy Tail.

_WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING HERE_

I covered my mouth with my hands to muffle the terrified scream that followed. The short dwarf of a man raised an eyebrow at me.

"Is something wrong?" I shook my head and tried to stop shaking, but failed majorly. "Ah, that's good." The old coot smiled. "Well my dear, you certainly know how to make an entrance. How did you manage to come flying through our roof, might I ask?"

_OH NO. WHAT SHOULD I SAY DAMMIT?_ It was then I came up with brilliant, cliché plan. Memory loss. It's a given, folks.

"I-I-I-I-I-I don't remember! Who are you? What's going on? Where am I? I don't remember anything? BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I blubbered. As you can tell, my acting skills need...refining. He gave me a strange look, and then nodded his head as if he understood.

"Ah, I see. That hit was so hard; you probably are suffering from amnesia. Makes sense, I suppose."

_He...bought it? HA. SCORE ONE FOR ME, BITCH! TAKE THAT, GOD. HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?_

He came to my bedside and cocked his head. "Well, I'm Makarov. Let's start with that. Do you remember your name?"

"Uh...I think its...Aspirin? No...oh yes! That's right, it's Aspen. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHeee... Sorry about that, Mr. Makarov."

_Oh yeah. I'm good._ I smirked.

"Aspen. Gotcha. Now, can you tell me anything else you remember?" I pretended to think, and I'm pretty sure I just looked constipated, but you know, same thing. _'_

What should I tell him?

"Well, my full name is Aspen Kosub. I'm sixteen going on seventeen, my birthday is May first, I like bad boys and bacon, I'm allergic to strange things, and, oh! I HATE ORANGES!"

Yeah, now that I think back on it, not the smartest move. It didn't help that I said all that in three seconds tops. He stared awestruck at me, and I chuckled nervously.

"But, uh, everything else is, um, totally blank. Not-not a thing." I pretended to cry as I covered my eyes dramatically. He gave me a sorrowful frown and touched my knuckle.

"It will be alright, please dont cry."

My attention was brought to my hand, and I snapped back to the reality of the situation.

I was now stuck in the world of Fairy Tail.

_I was now stuck in the world of Fairy Tail._

_**I was now stuck in the world of Fairy Tail.**_

I only gaped at my hand, not sure what to feel. Despair? Sadness? Happiness? Excitement?

"Makarov, do you happen to have a mirror on you?" I asked in a monotone voice. He answered yes and brought me one in a hurry. After I thanked him, it took me a good minute to gain the courage to look. _Here we go...let's see how bad the damage is..._ What I saw shocked me to no end.

My nose was now a little curved line, just like all cartoon people's. My skin was the same tone as my hand, a golden olive. My lips were now replaced with a little black rectangle, indicating my mouth was open. I had a flesh colored band aid on my left cheekbone.

My hair was darker then it was before, resembling burnt umber. It was still in the same exact style, though! With my bangs swept to the side. Much to my extreme joy, there was no frizz, no split ends, no imperfections on my head.

But what was most surprising were my eyes. They were freakin' huge! They kinda looked like Lucy's, except mine held more sharpness. But instead of the dull celery colored eyes I had back home, my eyes were replaced with gaping mint green ones.

Oh hell yeah.

"Are you alright, Aspen? You look quite shocked." The guild master knocked me out of my trance.

_I look just like an anime character...amazing. Absolutely amazing!_

"Yeah, I think so. I'm just a little shocked to see myself, that's all."

Well, I had finally decided my feelings. It came close to this:

WHOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOHELLYEAHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHBOWCHICKAWOWOW!

Translation: This is the best thing that has ever happened to me.


	4. IMSONERVOUSITHINKIMMABARF!

Makarov and I talked for a while more, mostly him explaining where we were, what Fairy Tail was, etc, etc. I finally decided to bring myself up.

"So, you're the master of this 'Fairy Tail' guild. Got it. But...what should I do? I don't really have anywhere to go...do you have any recommendations?" I cocked my head to the side, honestly curious of what he would say. I could only hope he'd let me stay here.

"Hmm...well..."

Looks like it'd take some convincing. I knew what to do.

_INNOCENT ASPEN I CHOOSE YOU._

I batted my eyes, pouting my lip and gazing into Makarov's eyes, practically painting the innocent on.

_Come on, go for the bait, old man..._

"Well...Usually I wouldn't go giving this opportunity out to just anyone, but you're a special case." I nodded slowly, telling him to go on, knowing victory was rightfully mine. "I suppose you could work here at Fairy Tail. Since you are not a mage, or from what you remember, you could help out around the guild. We could really use the extra help. Just think of yourself as Fairy Tail's own personal servant!"

_...What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?_

I was only slightly disappointed I couldn't become an official member of the guild, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, I was already overjoyed that I got to stay!

"SERIOUSLY?"

"Haha, yes. Really."

I jumped out of my bed and bent down, hugging Makarov tightly.

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!"

I let him go as he wheezed for air. "Don't mention it." Then we explained the details of our deal. I would get 10,000 jewel every week (I honestly had no idea whether that was a good deal or not, but I didn't care), and would be able to sleep on the floors of the guild, considering the girls dorm was too expensive. I was free to leave whenever I liked, which I honestly had no idea when that would be. How long was I going to be here, exactly?

I was once again examining myself in a full body mirror, looking at myself. I didn't look all too different, really, just more...anime'd. I couldn't help but think how awesome I looked; like a little anime schoolgirl! I twirled around in a circle, fully unaware of the fact that my self esteem was growing by the second.

"Aspen, wanna meet the guild? I bet they are very anxious to finally see you." Makarov popped his head through the door, and my heart stopped.

_Oh dear God...meet them? I'm not ready for this! What the hell should I do, or say? Dammit, Aspen don't mess this up!_ My breathing fastened. I was going to meet my most favorite anime characters ever, and I was freaking out!

"Uhh-uh-uhhh...okay, I-I guess so." Nervous, I walked with him into the center of Fairy Tail.

This was it. It was time to meet my idols.

I walked out with my face hidden and head down. I could already hear the whispers, and I felt a whole handful of eyes turn on me.

_Please don't trip please don't trip please don't trip._

Makarov began this whole big speech which I hardly heard, too busy with trying to rid my stomach of the rising amount of butterflies.

"So, let me introduce our new member, Aspen! Say hi, kiddo." Wait, what? It was time already?

_Please, PLEASE, don't make a fool out of yourself!_ I mentally screamed, trying to hold back from my fangirl mode. Trust me, no one ever wants to see that.

Raising my head slow as possible, I avoided eye contact with the people of the guild. I was completely oblivious to the fact that Team Natsu was standing. Right. IN. FRONT. OF. ME.

_M'kay, no sweat, just keep your eyes on the wall, don't make eye contact with anyone. Piece of cake._

Never once tearing my gaze from the corner of the room, I spoke weakly, "Uh, h-hey. I-I'm, uh, Aspen and it's nice to meet you all. I'm happy to be in Fairy Tail..." Well, besides the childish stuttering, that was pretty good! Although I sounded a bit well-mannered, which really doesn't suit me.

I heard wolf whistles and cheers, and I fiddled with my fingers, embarrassed of all the attention.

"What a cutie! She's so chubby!"

"Pfft. I'm way out of her league."

"Alright, who let the talking walrus into the guild?!"

_Did...someone just call me a walrus?_ I finally managed to look up, instantly regretting it. None other than Natsu Dragneel was in my face, observing me closely. "Hm, so you're the chick who fell through the roof? Wow, you must be pretty weak for being out for a whole day."

Of course, if this wasn't the godly, awesome, all around kickass Natsu from Fairy Tail, I would of happily screamed, "THE HELL DID YOU EXPECT, I FELL THROUGH A **ROOF**."

Alas, it was, so I awkwardly croaked, "Yeah, hah, I guess."

Wow, he looked exactly like he did in the anime and manga. Spiky, pink hair, and his cute little onyx eyes. I had to admit, he was pretty attractive for a cartoon character (even though I thought that before even coming here). You know what, scratch that. This guy was damn hot, not gonna lie.

Even now, I have a hard time believing this was all wasn't some kinda sick, twisted dream my mind is playing on me while I'm passed the hell out on a hospital bed. It seems surreal!

"Natsu, you idiot! Don't be so rude! I'm sorry about him; he's a little thick headed. I'm Lucy, nice to meet you." I gaped at Lucy as she approached me. Her boobs were...just HUGE. Why didn't they ever look like this before? Or maybe they did, and they just look bigger in person?

"Yeah, it's cool. Nice to meet you too, uh, Lucy." I bit my lip nervously, shaking her hand.

Then a familiar blue cat showed up. "Hi, I'm Happy!"

Shit, it was a cat. I was allergic to cats. I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved Happy, but I really couldn't be around him with my allergies. I backed up, laughing nervously. "Oh, uh, Happy. Hi there. I'm Aspen." I felt guilty for leaving like that, but I didn't want to turn into a coughing, sneezing, puffy-eyed fool on my first day. Even if it was the anime world and I was no longer affected, I couldn't take any chances. I retreated to the farther end of the room with Lucy.

Soon enough, a whole ton of different male guild members were violently attacking me with kind greetings.

"Hi, I'm Harold, would you like to share a sexual night with me?"

"What the hell are you wearing?"

"How old are you? Twelve? Thirteen?"

"Okay, quick question, male or female?"

Lucy smiled at me brightly. "Haha, looks like you're quite popular with the boys!" I nodded, not really agreeing at all.

"Hmm, I agree! Your arrival has made everyone a bit rowdy," I spun around to the beautiful, silky voice. "I'm Mirajane, I work here as head waitress. Why don't you come with me so you can get your guild tattoo?"

My eyes widened at two things.

One, Mirajane was fricking gorgeous. I was stunned. The white haired woman had pretty big knockers as well, maybe being bigger than Lucy's. Damn, what's with all the huge boobs?

Two, _guild tattoo?_ I was allowed to get one, even though I wasn't even an official member? THIS WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

"S-seriously? I get one?" I tried to pick my jaw up from the floor. Mirajane came over and took my hand, nodding.

"Of course! Your part of the family now, even if you can't use magic!"

Aww, she is _so_ nice! But since when did she know I wasn't a mage? Makarov must of mentioned something when I wasn't paying attention. I smiled, truly happy that I ever fell off that roof.

* * *

><p>Ever since mystery girl fell through the roof, the guild has been quiet. Everyone was anxious to see who the girl was and if she was okay. It had been since yesterday that it happened.<p>

On one table were Natsu, Happy and Lucy. It was comfortably silent. Then, abruptly, two figures walked out of the medical room. One was Makarov, the other a girl, with dark hair and her head down. Her face was hidden from view.

"Is that her?" Happy asked, staring at her trembling body.

"Dunno." Natsu replied gently.

The stranger, who was quite obviously the girl who fell through the roof, was stiff as a board. She was scared, likely still affected from that traumatic event.

"Now, everyone listen up." The guild master spoke strongly, silencing the remaining conversations. "This is indeed the girl from yesterday, and it seems she has lost her memory due to the fall. Because she scarcely remembers a thing and seems to be healthy, she will work at Fairy Tail as a servant. I want you all to treat her normally, even though she is not a wizard."

_Not a wizard? That sucks, looks like I won't be able to fight her._ Man. Natsu thought with a frown.

"So, let me introduce our new member, Aspen! Say hi, kiddo." Aspen flinched from surprise, and very slowly lifted her head to face the audience.

It was no doubt the girl from yesterday, as no one could forget such a...'unique' face like hers. But this time, a band aid covered her once visible gash, and sharp green eyes showed themselves, although she seemed to be staring at a wall.

"Uh, h-hey. I-I'm, uh, Aspen and it's nice to meet you all. I'm happy to be in Fairy Tail..." She mumbled, biting her lip once people began to cheer her on. She laughed stiffly to herself, her voice drifting off with a crack.

After a while she looked up, shocked as she found Natsu investigating her. "Hm, so you're the chick who fell through the roof? Wow, you must be pretty weak for being out for a whole day."

_Wow, her stare is pretty intense though...it's kinda creepy. _He thought as Aspen was gazing into him with fascination.

The fire mage couldn't help but smile as Lucy pulled the newbie away, chattering happily. _Heh, something tells me this girl is gonna be pretty interesting. _

* * *

><p>"So, what color tattoo would you like, Aspen?" Mirajane said.<p>

_Hm...Well, green would totally go with my eyes, and brown would go with my hair buuuuuuuut- I think I'll go with purple, it's such a badass color. _I grinned, more than excited to finally get the guild tattoo!

"Purple, please!" She nodded, magically revealing a purple stamp.

"Where do you want it?"

Ah, shit. That wouldn't be so easy to decide on. _Eh, my neck? No, too hard to see. My...boob? No, I don't want that...okay, fine. My stomach? Yeah, sure, that'll work!_

"Here, Mirajane, I got it." I happily took the stamp from her, pulling up my shirt slightly. I guided the stamp around, trying to find a right fit.

"'Kay, here!" I pressed the stamp down under my bellybutton, slightly to the left. "WOO! HELL YEAH." I cheered, overjoyed.

Mira sweatdropped as she took the stamp back and pointed to my belly. "Uh, Aspen? Your tattoo, it's, uh..."

I instantly looked down, staring at the light neon purple tattoo in the face. "I don't get it? It looks perfectly-"

And then I realized it. I had stamped my tattoo on _upside down._

'WELL THIS IS FABULOUS. THE FIRST AND ONLY CHANCE I GET TO HAVE AN OFFICIAL FAIRY TAIL TATTOO AND I SCREW IT UP!' I began to whine, looking to Mirajane for help.

"Aww, man! Isn't there any way to, like, redo it?"

"No, sorry. It's stuck like that now. Haha, it looks kinda cute like that!"

The 'tail' now pointed upwards, looking like a big nose. The 'wings' were now slanted down, looking like falling hair. And the 'body' was just flipped, resembling a open mouth. Altogether, my tattoo looked like a laughing person. Great.

"I guess..." I grumbled, having no one to blame but myself. Ah well, all that matters is that I'm here, right? Then Master Makarov called to see me, so I bid my farewell and stomped towards the upper level.

* * *

><p>As it turns out, the old man was giving me 50 thousand jewel to start off; buy clothes and such. So, I thanked him and rushed out the door, gaining the courage to ask Mirajane and Lucy to go shopping with me. They gladly accepted, and we ran to town.<p>

"So, Aspen, what's it like to lose your memory? Like, what all do you remember?" Lucy asked me as we looked at different shoes.

I sighed happily, finally getting used to the whole amnesia thing. "Well, it's pretty scary. I can't remember much. Only my name, my age, my birthday, and several other small things."

I held up a pair of white, soft slippers and while Mirajane and Lucy approved, I tossed them back.

"Oh? Like what?" Mira cocked her head.

"Uh, I know that I like bad boys and bacon and sleeping, and I know that I hate the color orange. And I also remember that I'm allergic to, uh, cats and the cold. So, yeah, that's basically it." I laughed, knowing I was doing a pretty good job.

"Wait, you're allergic to the cold? Is that even possible?" The blonde put her hands on her hips as we walked out the store after buying what I wanted.

"Yeah! It's a disease called...uh...crap...um...oh yeah! Cold urticaria! That's it. So, like, whenever I'm even slightly chilled, my skin gets all pink and red and my lips turn purple, and if I resist it too long, then I pass out and eventually die!" I said all too happily, as Mirajane and Lucy stared at me in horror.

"Really? That's horrible! Who knew it could be so fatal!" Mirajane gasped with a worried look. "I bet you and Gray aren't going to get along very well."

Ah shit, I forgot about him. Where was the guy, anyway?

"Gray uses Ice Make, a type of magic. He's out on a mission right now with Juvia, he left yesterday. He should be coming back soon, now that I think about it..." Lucy said thoughtfully. I sighed.

So, I'm allergic to Happy and technically Gray? Oh, this would be fun.

* * *

><p>After a day's worth of buying clothes, I came back with several awesome outfits. I already chose one that would be my 'main' outfit, though. It was getting late, and by then I had introduced myself to everyone properly. Soon, it was only me, the guild, a blanket and a pillow.<p>

I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty lonely.

Not to mention scared of the dark.

I was settled on the floor, lying on the pillow and under the blanket to protect me from any monsters that could be lurking. You never know, this _is_ the world of Fairy Tail.

I thought of how not so long ago, I was in school having another normal day in my normal life. And now, here I was, a member of THE Fairy Tail. Funny how your life can change in such a short amount of time.

I still had so many questions that were begging to be answered, like what that white thing was, how did I even get here, and what would I do? Should I stay here the rest of my life? The idea sounded pretty damn pleasant, let's be honest. It's not like I missed my old life.

_Ah well, I'll figure it out one of these days. For now, I have to get through the night without pissing my pants out of fear._

I had no idea that soon, I would be meeting others just like myself. Others who had been sucked from Earth and into Fairy Tail. I had no idea of the power that we would all soon hold.


	5. Lin and Lily

Well, it's finally here. Raging akuma d, your characters are finally in the story! Yay! I hope I didn't make them OOC.

Lily and Lin belong to Raging akuma d.

* * *

><p>~Earth~<p>

It was a normal, sunny day at Eaglewood High School, and the bell had just rung, which meant the school day was finally over.

A beautiful, slightly petite student came striding out the doors, book bag in hand. She had long, coal black hair, tied neatly in a single pony tail. Her skin was light, and she had river blue eyes. She wore a simple yet classy white t-shirt, a black jacket over it. The girl also wore a skirt and blue sneakers.

This was none other than Lily Wain, Vice President of the Student Council, and damn proud of it. Lily always chose to walk home rather than drive a car, as it was easy exercise. She carried herself well, showing she was quite content with her reputation at her high school. Unlike SOME people we know *coughAspencough*

It had been an easy day as Vice, since there were no ditching of classes or breaking of rules. Life was good.

Well, until Lily happened to come across a very concerning situation. A brown haired teen was being held against a fence and none other than the all famous Nick Carson was the one manhandling her.

_What in the world? _Lily thought with a deep frown blessing her lips. Then, a greater shock, Nick _slapped _the poor girl, and whispered harshly in her ear. Lily's eyes widened, glaring at the jock as he got in his car and drove away, towards Lily, of all people.

The VP held an arm out, stopping the car. He mouthed some confused words as he stepped out.

"Hey, what the hell, man?"

Lily's blue orbs pierced into his own, making chills run down his spine.

"Don't you 'what the hell', me, Nick! I saw what you just did to that girl! What were you thinking, hitting her like that?" Oh, she was mad now. This stupid pig was gonna get what he deserved!

Nick's eyes went wide. "You...you saw that?"

"Yeah, I did. And now you're gonna pay for it."

Nick squealed like a constipated baby when the small girl approached him, and he backed into the car. Everyone at school knew the Vice President was a Judo Master. She never lost a fight!

"Please, Lily! I'll apologize to her! JUST PLEASE DONT HIT ME!"

Lily showed her white, shiny teeth in a growl. "It's far too late for that! You won't get away with treating a woman like that!"

And so, Lily promptly continued to beat the shit out of Nick and anyone that tried to interfere.

* * *

><p>"Lin? We have a small problem. I need you to check on someone for me."<p>

Lily was finished fighting, finally. She was now calling Lin, her best friend of many years. He also happened to be President of the Student Council.

"Huh? What happened? Did someone get hurt?" Lin, a rather average length boy said through the other end of the phone. He had black, raven hair and milky brown eyes, and very attractive looking. He was currently at his house reading manga of Fairy Tail, in a gray t-shirt and blue jeans. A jade cross shaped necklace hung around his neck.

Lily bit her lip, as the girl who had been there earlier, had now disappeared. Lily had also identified her as Aspen Kosub, and in the same grade as her and Lin.

"Yes, kind of. I saw Nick Carson slap a defenseless student, but I took care of him already. But I want to go check on the girl. Her name's Aspen Kosub, in our grade. Do you think you can track her down?"

Lin gasped. Nick had slapped a girl? Wow, that was big. He was glad that Lily took care of him already, or else Lin would've had to step in.

"Aspen Kosub? Alright, I'll look in on it. I'll call you back, Lil."

"Thank you. Bye."

Hanging up, they both went their separate ways.

* * *

><p>Lin had easily found the residence of this Aspen girl, and had informed his best friend of it, as well. They quickly met up at the house, ready to check on her.<p>

"Alright, let's go. I hope she is alright." Lily looked worried, as did Lin.

They knocked softly on the door, to be greeted by a short, curly haired woman. "Hello, may I help you?"

Lily stepped up to speak. "Hi, were here to talk to Aspen. Is she here?" The woman furrowed her eyebrows. 'Hm..well, even though Aspen is in trouble, no one has really come to see her in a while, so why not.' The mother nodded, letting them into to a finely decorated house. It was quite big.

"ASPEN, SOME OF YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE!" The woman shouted, making Lin and Lily wince. "Go ahead upstairs, she is in her room. First room on the right."

They quietly ran up the stairs, knocking on a plain white door. "Uh, Aspen?" Lin asked quietly, tapping on the wood.

No reply.

"It's Lin Mu and Lily Wain, from school. Can we talk to you, please?"

Still no reply. Having no further patience, Lin reached for the handle, trying to turn it.

The door was locked. "What the?" He asked himself, shaking it like that would unlock it.

"Crap, what should we do? Get her parents?" Lily said, putting her hands on her hips.

The President should his head. "No, I bet that's the last person she wants to see. Besides, from what I could tell, she had gotten in a fight with them as well."

Before Lily got the chance to ask him how he knew that, Lin lifted his foot up and kicked the doorknob. Hard.

"LIN! What are you doing?" The blue eyed girl hissed, looking around to see if anyone heard. Lin sighed, opening the now unlocked door.

"I have to do what I can to watch out for my students, Lily."

The room was normal, with what you would expect to see in a teen girl's bedroom. Purple and white covered everything. But there was no Aspen to be found.

"She's not here?" Lin thought aloud, searching around the room.

"Lin, the window is open! Maybe she ran away?" Lily replied, poking her head out.

Lin wandered around the room, coming across a bottle of prescription carefully picked it up.

_Hm, why would she need these? Surely the slap wasn't that bad? These things are pretty strong. Unless she was going to..._

The brown eyes male widened his eyes, hoping it wasn't true. Lin looked back at the open window, reminded of how a student had tried to commit suicide by jumping off the school building years ago.

"I don't think that's it, Lily! I think that she might have..." Lily caught on, and they both climbed out onto the roof, peering over carefully. No body, no nothing.

"Where could she be?" Lin panicked, really worried something had happened to her. He didn't even notice the floating, white ball thing that was hovering over his head. But Lily did.

The seventeen year old screamed, pointing at the thing. Lin looked up, and the white thing attacked his face. He yelped as it bounced on his face, and tried to smack it off. While the two best friends were freaking out, a silver, swirling portal was forming quickly behind them both.

Once the thing had got off, it was too late. The children began to call for help as they were sucked into the portal. "LIN!" Lily screamed, linking their fingers together so they wouldn't separate. No matter what was going on, the two wouldn't leave each other's side.

And so, the Vice President and President of Eaglewood High School were consumed by the silver portal, and they quickly lost consciousness.


	6. Work Isn't My Thing

And another chapter, done! Don't worry, we'll find out what happened to Lin and Lily later.

* * *

><p>I had finally managed to fall asleep that night. I made a mental note to buy a dozen night lights. So the next day was my first day as a Fairy Tail guild member, and I was more than pumped.<p>

I had woken up extra early to get all prepped and ready, and might I say, I looked hot. Like, steamin'. My body was on fire. Baby, if you had water on your finger and you touched me, your finger would sizzle.

You get the point.

I decided to wear my 'main' outfit today. It was consisted of black shorts, a cut-off tank top, and a purple hoodie. I also sported mint converse-looking shoes, and rainbow neon socks to finish it off.

Oh HELL, I loved this outfit.

The band aid that was earlier on my face had been removed, showing off a noticeable tan scar that ran across my cheekbone. The perfect touch of rebel!

My hair was as it always was, clipped to the side with a now cupcake shaped clip.

I happily paraded out to the guild's view, and Lucy and Mirajane immediately came to me.

"Oh Aspen, you look amazing! I just love your outfit! I'm so jealous right now!" Lucy sang, shaking my shoulders. Mirajane put her hands to the side of her face and smiled.

"She's right, you look so cute!"

"Heh, why thank you." I said smugly. This was just too awesome. Everyone here in Fairy Tail was so nice and sweet, unlike some certain individuals I know back home.

I soon saw Happy and Natsu who were goofing off, no surprise there. Luckily, I had found a pretty handy solution to the whole cat problem. I had bought a little white surgical mask yesterday, so whenever I was around the fur ball I could just put it on! Tada! Good idea or what? I really wanted to go talk to him and let everyone get to know me, but I had to do my job.

So I marched proudly up to Makarov, asking him,

"Alright, Master! What's on today's to-do list?"

I felt his eyes roam my body and mentally gagged, but kept a perfectly straight face.

"Well, servant, first thing I order you to do is fix the roof you so rudely ruined! Do you know how much of a draft has been in here? Now get to it!" He smacked my butt, making me yelp and jump away.

I pulled the sleeves of my jacket up to my biceps, screaming for all to hear, "IT'S GAME TIME!" Everyone stared at me.

"Er... my bad."

And with that, I ran off.

* * *

><p><em>This...is going to be harder than I expected.<em>

I was trying to find out how to even get _on_ the roof, much less fix it. Although many people offered help, I refused! This was my job, my responsibility, god damn it!

Well, the best approach would be to climb my way up, so that is exactly what I did. Or, tried to do.

The by passers gawked at me as I attempted to climb my way up, but the stone holding the building together...wasn't the sturdiest. In fact, everything was rather flat, and there wasn't much to cling to. I inched my way up a stone pillar, finally reaching floor one of the roof. Success!

I panted with my hands on my knees. That was no easy task. _Well, time to keep going!_

I LITERALLY spent the next hour climbing all the way to the top of the roof of the guild, where a nice little hole was missing. Whoops.

I sighed, excited I made it this far. "What to do first?" I thought aloud. Hm, how do you even fix a hole in the roof, anyway? "Well, I better just grab some-"

Wood.

I forgot all my tools and supplies inside the guild.

"GODDAMNIT!" I screamed to the heavens, running around for no apparent reason. "Ugh, I'm so not cut out for this crap. I mean really, I can't even remember to-"

I absentmindedly stumbled backwards, and, you guessed it, tipped right into the hole and through the roof. For the second time.

Thankfully, Elfman had caught me, preventing me from could-be injuries.

So just WHY THE HELL couldn't he do that last time?

I grudgingly thanked the huge man and stormed off, once again going on a rampage because I realized:

One: I had to climb all the way back up and

Two: I never even had any tools or supplies to begin with.

"Screw this; can't I just become a wizard now?" I whined while pathetically while curling myself up in a ball against the outer wall of the guild.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I whirled around to find an attractive looking girl with short, purple hair, glasses and brown eyes. She smiled kindly at me.

"Uh, hey, do you need some help? I saw you climb to the roof and since I'm a Wood Make user, I could build you a ladder! You look kinda lost at the moment." Ah yes, Laki, now I remember her!

You know what; screw the whole 'lone wolf' act. If she wants to make me a ladder, then I'm gonna take it! I laughed slightly. "Yeah, thanks, that would be awesome."

She nodded and stuck her hand out. "I'm Laki, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Laki. I'm Aspen, but you probably already know that."

"Yep! Now just gimme a sliver of time and it will be ready!"

I held my arm in my hand and nodded, waiting patiently as I watched her do her thing. She put her fist in her palm, much resembling how Gray does it, and suddenly, a piece of wood formed. It slowly morphed into a ladder.

A damn _tall_ ladder at that. It reached the very top of the building, right where I needed to be. My jaw fell to the floor as I did a victory dance. Hell yeah, now I could finish it in 10 minutes tops!

Oh dang it, I don't have any materials. Giving puppy eyes to Laki, I politely asked her if I could have some spare wood. I would have to find the other tools on my own.

She subtly agreed and gave me the goods, and I ran off to go scavenge people for everything else.

* * *

><p>There he was. The long, black haired dragon slayer was currently chowing down on some nails, some nails that I could very well use. Psh, stupid man, didn't even have the nerve to introduce himself to me!<p>

I really had the urge to yell, _BAD GAJEEL! BAD BAD BAD BOY! How dare you not address me properly, and even go as far as to eat perfectly resourceful nails! Naughty dragon slayer!_

_'Course, if I did that, I myself would have a mouthful of metal. Looks like we're gonna have to do things the __**boring **__way._ I sighed.

"Um, sir?" I waved my hand in front of his head, cocking my head to the side curiously. He turned his pierced face to meet mine, looking at me strangely. "Eh? Who the hell are you?"

I gulped; his husky and deep voice was quite...intimidating. Wonder how Levy handles this guy?

"Uhhh I'm the new girl, Aspen. You know, fell through the roof? Out for a day?" I pointed my index finger up, showing him the hole in the roof.

He swallowed his nails and chuckled. "Ha! I remember you. So what do you want?"

The hell was I supposed to say? '_Can I borrow those nails you're eating?'?_

"Can I borrow those nails you're eating?"

His red eyes flickered with mild surprise. "Why? Do you eat metal too, or somethin'?" I smiled sheepishly, rubbing my hands together.

"Well actually, I need them to fix the roof."

He paused for a moment or two. Or three. Or four. Okay, how long was this guy gonna freaking pause?

"Hmph. Fine, whatever. Just don't come bothering me for nothing anymore, got it?"

_WOO! VICTORY._

"Yeah, thanks Gajeel! You're the best dragon slayer ever!" Yeah, so what, I'm a suck up! I personally prefer being on that guy's good side, you know?

I skipped off with nails in hand, proud that I had succeeded in not pissing the scary man off.

* * *

><p>So, nails. Check! Wood. Check! Hammer. Not so much check!<p>

Alright, who in this place would be holding a hammer?

Um...

_Ah, damn it._

"HEYYY! HELLLLLO. DOES ANYONE HAVE A HAMMMERRRR?" I screamed at the guild, making everyone face me.

"What did she say?"

"A hammer?"

"Jeez, what a spazz."

Urgh, did no one have one? How in the world was I going to get this done?

"Hammer? I have one!" Wait, what? I swirled my body around to see the owner of the all too familiar voice.

What the **hell** was Natsu doing with a hammer.

But indeed, in his hand was a hammer. "Finally," I whispered in relief.

"Natsu, what are _you_ doing with one?" I asked him, tilting my head innocently. He flashed that wicked little grin at me and waved it in his hand, Happy flying by his side.

_Shit, time to get the mask._ I thought to myself, actually reaching into my pocket and grabbing it. I continued to listen as I tied the thing over my mouth.

"Sorry, none of _your_ business," Oh no he didn't. "Why do _you_ need one, anyway?"

"Well for your information, I need it for a job I'm on. So, may I please borrow it?" I growled, hissing slightly.

"Ehh, I don't know. I kinda need it at the minute. And what's up with the funky mask?" Why was he being so aggravating?_ Bet he would of gave it to Lucy or Lisanna, no problem._

"_Sorry, none of _your_ business," _I mocked him happily. "That is, unless, you let me borrow the hammer."

_COME ON COME ONNNNNNN_

"Sorry, this is staying in my hands, only. Go buy your own." BAHHHH! Why was he so stubborn?

I let out a war cry and charged the pink-haired idiot with everything I had, which wasn't much. At all. Natsu simply held out an extremely, unbelievably muscular arm and grabbed my head, holding me in my place.

"Give...me...it...Natsu! Please...just...oh come...on! Totally...unfair!" I finally gave up, slinking away with in a now sulky mood. "Fine, I'll buy my own, jerk."

Without another word I left the guild and head into town, searching to buy a hammer.

It wasn't until at the cash register I had realized that I had no money on me. It was all at Fairy Tail.

I stormed out the store with an outraged roar. _IS THIS HOW WORK WILL BE EVERY DAY?!_

I shoved the doors open with a huff after sprinting back there. _Where the hell is my-_

"Aspen! Good job on the roof, it looks nice!" Makarov smiled at me, giving a thumbs up.

'Roof? But I didn't...' I looked up with instinct, shocked to find that the hole that was previously there, was now completely fixed. Patched up and all.

"Um, I didn't..." I sighed. "Thanks, old man." I mumbled, still extremely confused.

Who in the world would have done that for me?

* * *

><p>That day, it was very obvious that Ms. Aspen was not who everyone thought she was. The minute she marched out of her room that morning, everyone could tell something was different.<p>

Well, besides the fact that she looked much more different than she did yesterday, she had a brand new personality. The shy, polite young lady was gone; a rude, obnoxious, loud mouthed teenager took her place. The strange girl was happily chattering with her two newest girl friends, oblivious to the strange looks.

Two of the on-lookers being Natsu and Happy, who also caught Aspen momentarily stare at them with an unknown emotion on her face.

They watched her approach the Master and him smack her bum, then she glaring daggers at him.

The newbie fist pumped, yelling, "IT'S GAME TIME!" across the room, chuckling in embarrassment. "Er...my bad." She then ran out the doors, full of energy.

"Wow," Natsu said confused. "She sure is...different from yesterday, ain't she?" His partner nodded.

"Aye! She's weird! Even more then Lucy, and _that's _saying something!"

So the pair spent the next few hours hanging around, not forgetting to watch Aspen fail miserably at whatever she was trying to do at the moment, whether it be climb a wall or get back down. The idiot even managed to fall through the roof AGAIN! For the **second **time!

"Natsu, this is just sad. How about we help her out?" Happy asked with good intentions.

"Aww, do we have to?" The dragon slayer groaned, not wanting to move from his spot. Happy nodded, and pulled Natsu away to go get ready.

Thirty minutes later, and Natsu had a hammer in hand, wood outside and nails in his pocket, ready to fix the roof for the poor girl that failed to do so.

Speak of the devil; she let herself be known once more.

"HEYYY! HELLLLLO. DOES ANYONE HAVE A HAMMMERRRR?"

Her not so graceful voice rung in everyone's ears. Damn, that chick could scream.

Natsu looked at her, knowing she was trying to fix the roof herself. Knowing full well the girl would probably end up killing herself, he wasn't going to give it to her. That didn't mean her could mess with her, though!

"Hammer? I have one!" He was curious to see what she would do. Aspen spun around, looking at him with surprise.

She mumbled something before asking, "Natsu, what are _you_ doing with one?" She tilted her head.

Natsu smiled deviously at the unsuspecting teen, taunting her with the tool. Then it was his turn to be puzzled as the female reached into her pocket and grabbed something white, tying it over her mouth and nose. A surgical mask._ What the?_

But he had to admit, the white of the cloth sure did brighten her already flashing green eyes. He looked away from them to avoid being blinded.

"Sorry, none of _your_ business," Oh _yes, _he did. "Why do _you_ need one, anyway?" Natsu teased at her, ready to burst out laughing as her nostrils flared in anger.

Her voice held a begging, helpless whine. "Well for your information, I need it for a job I'm on. So, may I please borrow it?"

Time to push her buttons some more. "Ehh, I don't know. I kinda need it at the minute. And what's up with the funky mask?" Happy glanced at Natsu, wondering what the heck his best friend was planning.

_'et's see how long this chick will last._ Natsu thought playfully.

"_Sorry, none of _your_ business," _Did she just mock him? Oh, she was _so_ not getting this thing now! "That is, unless, you let me borrow the hammer."

He could see her cross her tiny fingers in hope, and he almost wanted to give in and just give the poor thing the hammer. But, he didn't.

"Sorry, this is staying in my hands, only. Go buy your own." And then Natsu knew he finally crossed the line. Aspen clenched her fists in anger and let out a short, mad cry and went at him. Knowing she wasn't a mage and definitely not strong, Natsu effortlessly stopped her in her path. He smiled as she childishly struggled to overpower him, and, as expected, failed majorly.

"Give...me...it...Natsu! Please...just...oh come...on! Totally...unfair!" She moaned between breaths, and she then retreated with fallen shoulders, signaling she had given up.

"Fine, I'll buy my own, jerk." She pouted, crossing her arms and walking out of the guild. The minute she was gone, Natsu burst out laughing, as did Happy.

"D-did you see her face? That was s-so priceless!" He finally picked himself up, breathing heavily. "Now, let's go get this over with, right bud?"

Happy nodded. "Aye, sir!" He then joyfully flew out with Natsu in tow. _Man...This new girl is gonna be a whole lot of fun to mess with...can't wait till Gray meets her._

* * *

><p>The rest of the day was spent doing odd and random chores for Master, such as going to get him a magazine special of wizard models. I don't even wanna know what he did when he took it to the back room.<p>

Finally, my long, first exhausting day at Fairy Tail was over, and I still hadn't seen Happy or Natsu. 'Serves 'em right, those little-'

My thoughts were cut off as two figures walked through the door, and very familiar ones, too. The first was a man with no shirt on and only his dark blue boxers, showing off a very well put together chest. He had dark blue eyes and black, spiky hair.

The other was a pretty girl, blue short spiky hair and beautiful blue eyes, and she was wearing a long white and blue dress. Oh, and a blue hat. Is it just me, or did she like the color blue?

The boy and girl stopped and stared at me silently, and I felt very...violated. Like, I kinda just wanna hide behind a curtain for the rest of my life violated. Their gazes were so. Freakin'. Intense.

"So," I began, straightening myself out. "You must be Gray and Juvia."


	7. And So The Battles Begin

I bit my lip as I waited for someone to answer.

"Uh...yeah, we are. And you're that girl who fell through the roof the other day!" Gray replied, smirking at me for some unknown reason.

"Yeah, hah, that's me. I'm Aspen, it's nice to meet you both." Gray stuck his hand out to shake my hand, but Juvia quickly pulled him away.

"Juvia...does not approve of this 'Aspen'. Perhaps she is another love rival...?"

She turned extremely creepy as her blue eyes turned deadly. I shuttered as I retreated with hands up. "Hey, hey, he's all yours, dude. Trust me." It's not like Gray was ugly or anything, in fact he was totally dreamy with awesome looks and even an extremely turn-on-ish bad boy personality, but I didn't feel like starting any shit with the water mage. She was terrifying enough.

Then Lucy showed. "Gray, can you at least put some clothes on before meeting her? Jeez, you have no shame, do you?" I snorted as Gray turned red and quickly scurried away, Juvia not far behind. Strange couple, they were.

"Ah, thanks, Lucy. I would have said something, but then it would have gotten awkward." Now that I thought about it, it still felt like someone was missing from the group. I racked my memory for who it could be. Wait a minute!

"Hey, where is Erza? I haven't seen her around at all." The scarlet haired women was indeed missing, I had seen no trace of her.

Lucy blinked. "Oh, Erza? She left on some big mission days ago. How do you know her, anyway?" Uh oh. Guess I slipped a little on that one, didn't I?  
>"Uh-um...I heard some rumors about her! You know, Queen of the Fairies, Titania? Heard she's, like, super strong." I lied quickly.<p>

The blonde understood. "I see. She is pretty popular, I guess." She looked down glumly. I pat her on the shoulder with encouragement.

"Hey, I heard some things about you, too! Like, there was...hmm...oh, right! 'Lucy? Why, she's the prettiest looking thing on Fairy Tail!' Or, there was, 'The spirit mage? Yeah, who doesn't know her! Her beauty is amazing!'"

Sure, I may have gone a little over board, but a couple white lies wouldn't hurt. Besides, as soon I saw the surprised smile on her face, I felt all nice inside. See, I can be sweet! ...when I wanna be.

* * *

><p>It was night time again. Well, sort of. More like six o'clock. I really wanted to stay up and hang, but everyone forced me to bed when I began to doze off at dinner. Guess working all day had that kind of effect on me, despite the 'work' only being mere errands. That's what happens when you are spoiled rotten your entire life.<p>

I took my good ol' pillow and blanket and retreated to the second floor, where it was pretty quiet. I curled myself up in a corner on the floor, once again stuck thinking.

I had grown kinda used to the Fairy Tail life in the past, what, 24 hours, and I had to say, I was enjoying it. Being in Fairy Tail was so much fun, but I couldn't help but..._miss_ my family. Call me crazy, but it was true. Even after what happened, a part of me yearned to see my mother again and be consumed by her hugs. A part of me begged to see my father again, and be told one of his cheesy yet somehow funny jokes.

But most of all, I wanted to see my brother.

Nolan.

Oh, how I yearned to see that little smile on his face, how I craved to hear him call me strange names.

I wonder how he was taking it. Knowing his big sister, his best and only friend, had abandoned him all alone in that sad, sad world.

Was that how my parents felt as well?

I felt a tear roll down my cheek, and I sniffed, laughing at how weak I was lately. _Don't mind me, just Niagara Falls Aspen, over here_.

I was confused as to why I felt like this. I should have been happy beyond words that I was here, in my dream world. But I guess everyone must get a little homesick sometimes, yeah? I laughed at how pathetic I was acting, reminding myself that I had friends here, now; my family was now Fairy Tail.

So that night I fell asleep with salty, dried tears on my cheeks, and my eyes rubbed raw. Surprisingly, that was the best sleep I ever had before.

* * *

><p>Mirajane had seen it; she had seen Aspen crying. She looked so sad, just silently sobbing into her hands. Mira wished she could do something, but didn't want to interfere. She bet it was because of the amnesia, what person wouldn't be like that after losing all their memories?<p>

Mirajane gently covered the now sleeping teen with another blanket, wishing her a good night of sleep.

To say the least, Mirajane had most definitely grown fond of the new girl, and hoped the others would as well. She had a feeling that this small, crazy teenager was going to bring lots of trouble, and she would need help if she wanted to get out of it.

* * *

><p>The next morning was rather...difficult. You know how I said I woke up early on my first day? Well, that was completely out of character. That morning happened to be a very special occasion so I mentally forced myself to wake up. I guess everyone just assumed that's how my sleeping schedule normally was.<p>

They couldn't be more wrong.

Trying to wake me up is a nightmare. I've seen videos and I've heard stories. Trust me, it ain't pretty. Which is why, that disturbing morning, the guild was freaking out.

They all thought I was dead.

No joke, they seriously thought I had, like, stopped breathing in my sleep or some crazy shit. Did I really stop breathing and die, you ask?

Nope, that's just how I always am while sleeping. And when I wanna sleep, I sleep. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

"Hey, wake up, Aspen! It's already seven!" Lucy was told to wake me by the Master, and so she did. Or, tried to.

I didn't budge, just sat there like a sloth in hibernation. Wait, do sloths even hibernate?

"Aspen?" She walked over and shook me gently. No response. "HEY!" She shook me harder. No response. She growled to herself. "Come on, wake up, Aspen!"

Apparently, my body didn't even flinch as she violently began to kick and slap me. She widened her eyes in horror, getting a sick idea. "Oh no...!"

She ran down the stairs as fast as she could, calling for help. "Guys, guys! I think...I think Aspen's dead!"

So, then many people was crowded around my limp body, whispering gossip. "She is really dead?"

"Can't be! But how?"

"Damn, she was totally digging me, too."

"Can we eat her? She's so nice and plump.."

Makarov showed up next. "What's going on here?" He walked up to my body and furrowed his eyebrows, probably thinking something along the lines of _What the hell are these dumbasses doing now._

Lucy shook with fear. "Sir, it's Aspen! She-she's dead!" She pointed at me. "Go help her!" How was he supposed to help me if I was dead?

Makarov walked over and studied me. He then brushed the dark hair from my face, showing a shut eyed, dead looking teen. He pinched my nose carelessly.

Everyone waited for something to happen. 'Five..four..three..two..one..' Makarov thought. That next moment, I let out a huge, rippling snort and smacked his body away, sending his tiny body flying. I rolled over quite comfortably as if nothing ever happened.

Everyone sweat dropped. "Oh...well, at least she's not dead, right?" Lucy laughed.

Gray shook his head. "Just how much of a heavy sleeper _is_ she?"

So I guess the group decided to toss my body into a closet for the fun of it, because when I woke up, there I was. Feeling nice and sore all over, jammed into a closet and wrapped up in the blanket like a burrito.

I managed to escape and crawled out of the closet with various 'oof's and 'ack's.

"Alright, the hell is going her-" My voice boomed at the members, each of them watching me cut myself off as I tripped over that darn blanket and tumbled pathetically down the stairs. I'm pretty sure I even heard someone call, "FAIL!"

"GAHHHH! FRIGGIN' OW!" I face planted into the wooden floor, moaning and groaning. Yeah, not the best way to start the day.

"Finally, you're awake! I was beginning to think you were in some kinda coma!" Lucy walked over and helped me up, that girl was so sweet! I gave her a puzzled stare.

"What do ya mean? What time is it, anyway?" I yawned dramatically, brushing the tangly hair out of my face. I'm pretty sure I looked the Grudge right now, but who gives a shit, it's Fairy Tail!

Lucy deadpanned. "It's one o'clock in the afternoon, Aspen. How could you possibly sleep that long, even after going to bed at six?" One? That wasn't _so _bad.

"Oh, calm down, that's how I always am." Lucy anime fell, terrified that at the fact I could sleep like that _every single day_.

"What? I'm serious. If it's such a big problem, wake me up earlier." The blonde grit her teeth in frustration after she picked herself back up. "We tried! I kicked you, bit you, and hit you! Everything!"

"Ah, so _that's _why I feel sore and have random marks all over..."

I crossed my arms and laughed at the spirit mage, she obviously had no idea how to wake someone up the **proper** way.

"Look, Luce, this is how you wake me up. It's simple." I began, with an intelligent tone. She waited for me to continue.

"All you have to do is wave some bacon in my face, and I'll be up in a flash!" Once again, she anime fell at my comment. I don't get why, though, I was completely serious.

She sighed, getting off the floor. "Fine, if you insist. But if it doesn't work, I'm blaming it on you!" Lucy walked off, insisting she had to go take a nap after all this stress.

"Bye-bye, then!" I called cheerily, waving a delicate hand at her.

I was particularly happy that morning, regardless of the night I had. Maybe it was the good sleep? Who knows? Either way, it was quite surprising I wasn't being the foul beast I usually am after waking up.

And then, my wonderful morning was promptly ruined by a boy with rose colored hair. Natsu, you ass.

"Whoa! Aspen's looking a little rough this morning, eh Happy?" He smirked at me. "It must have been from sleeping from so long." Happy nodded. Crap, where the hell is my mask?

"Aye!"

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "You're one to talk! I've heard the rumors about how you sleep, Natsu, so don't you dare go teasing **me** about my sleeping habits, got it?"

Yeah, that's right, I went there.

He barked out a laugh. "Oh yeah, like I'm scared of some amnesiac little girl who can't even do magic!"

I clenched my jaw. "Oh, it's on now, dragon boy!" I was about to go at it before a hand pulled me back roughly.

"Whoa, whoa. Take it easy there, Aspen. Natsu's my fight right now."

I looked up to see Gray, that stupid ice mage, holding me by my new yellow t-shirt which I had used as pajama wear. I scoffed. "Hell no! You can't just, interfere like that! Wait your turn, Gray!"

Natsu joined in. "Yeah, get out of here, snow ball! I'll kick your ass another time." Gray's gaze darkened.

"Is that so? Then prove it! Right here, right now! Let's see if you can really beat me like you say, you damn flame head."

Wait a damn minute, where was I in this? Gray lazily chucked me to the side as he and Natsu went at it, kicking and punching each other. I also noticed his shirt went missing. How typical.

I tried to be patient and wait for them to be done with it so I could join back in, but they kept going. And going. And going.

"GOD DAMMIT STOP IGNORING ME!" I shrieked, literally jumping onto Gray and latching on for the ride. I pulled his hair and scratched his shoulders.

"Ah! Get off of me!" He screamed, but I continued. I had no idea where Natsu was.

"DIE!" Damn, these two had really gotten my blood pumping. I was in a very feisty mood, ready to take on anyone and everyone. Gray finally managed to knock me off. I observed my handy work. His back was slightly bloody and his hair was a total mess. HA! And they said I couldn't fight, WHAT-EVER!

I laughed at Gray as he freaked out. Then, someone pulled a vicious sneak attack on me. A wet one.

"JUVIA WILL PUNISH YOU FOR HARMING GRAY!" I yelped as Juvia launched a dangerously painful water blast at me, and then enveloped me in a Water Lock. I gurgled as I was surrounded by liquid.

"GET ME OUTTA HERE!" I choked out, awkwardly attempting to swim my way out. I failed.

"Looks like its magic time!" Gray said, putting his fist in his palm. A light blue circle formed beneath him.

"Let's do it!" Natsu brought out the flames, which covered his fists. He grinned excitedly.

'DOESN'T ANYONE CARE I'M IN HERE?' I thought to myself. Suddenly, the water around me froze, turning into ice. The hell?

My eyes flashed to meet Gray's, and he smirked. "Sorry, but I can't let some innocent girl like you get hurt, could I?" And with that, he kicked the ball of ice, making me go soaring down the hallway.

"GRAYYYYY!" I screamed in fury.

_I AM SO PUTTING HIS NAME ON THE ASS KICKINGS TO-DO LIST_

The spinning sphere was beginning to make me a bit dizzy. I was just lucky I wasn't Natsu. Then, everything came to an abrupt halt. Someone stopped the ball! SOMEONE SAVED ME!

"Eh?" I looked up to see Makarov with his foot on the ice, and he kicked it gently. It all shattered, and I fell to the floor.

"Thanks a bunch, old man! You really saved my ass!" I grinned, kneeling down to his height.

He sighed, pinching his nose. "I swear, you kids cause such a ruckus."

He then walked off to go deal with the others, I assumed. Sighing, I ran to back where all of my stuff was. Grabbing my clothes, I quickly changed into a new outfit.

It was a green tank top accompanied by dark blue capris and yellow sneakers. I had brushed out my hair and put it in low, curly pigtails.

"There we go." I smiled. I sprinted out with a now cheerful mood. And for the _second_ time that day, it was ruined by Natsu.

"Hey, Aspen! I'm not done with you yet!" I ignored the shivering I did as he said my name and glared at him. "What is it?"

He pointed an accusing finger at me. "You got me in big trouble with Gramps! Gray, too!"

_ARE YOU SHITTING ME?_

"All that and your blaming _me?_ I swear to god, I'm gonna kick your ass!" I tried to punch him but he dodged easily, pulling my shoulders back and made me fall down. I squeaked as I reached out frantically, luckily grabbing his hand. We both went down.

It was pretty odd, then, as we both stared _wrestling_ on the cold floor. "Take it, stupid Salamander!"

"Shut it, newbie!"

"I may be new, but I'm far cooler then you!"

"OH YEAH?"

"YEAH!"

We were now on our sides, struggling to see who would toss each other over. Of course, he over powered me. The dragon slayer was now sitting on my waist, his coal eyes practically glowing. A grin was on his face, he was happy he was able to beat me.

"You're really having fun with this, aren't you?" I bit out, squirming from beneath him. Damn, he was heavy. He laughed and grinned wickedly. "You know it."

"Natsu? Aspen? What are you two doing, exactly?" We whipped our heads around to see Mirajane, looking down at us with a confused face. Uh oh. This was just like in the movies, where the two characters get caught in an awkward, misleading situation. Guess that's Fairy Tail, for you. How utterly cliché.

Natsu quickly jumped off of me and smiled, as if nothing even happened. Was he so oblivious he didn't even realize what that just looked like?

"Oh, hey, Mira. I was just beating some sense into newbie over there." He jerked a thumb towards me where I was still lying on the floor. Mirajane blinked. "I see. Uh, Aspen? The master has requested for you."

I picked myself up and smiled at her sincerely. "Thanks! See ya later, Mirajane._" _I glared at the pink haired boy with venom once more before jogging off to wherever the hell the old man was, curious to what he would have to say.

* * *

><p>Makarov had told me to go do some errands for him. When I asked him what kind, he told me he needed some special ingredients from another town. When I asked how to get there, he told me to take Team Natsu along with me for help.<p>

_What._

"No way! I'm not even a mage, I can't do that!" I yelled, although I had to admit I obsessed over the idea of it. But I couldn't make that obvious, could I? My pride was too large for that.

He sat down in a chair and drank his drink. "Fine. Go alone then, it doesn't affect me. Just a suggestion. Have fun out there, girly!" He gave me a thumbs up and a 'shoo' sign. Ugh, god. That old man was a clever one.

"Fine, I'll take them! Stupid geezer." I muttered, going to collect the members (or whom were there) of Team Natsu. Luckily, Lucy had come back fully awake, so I wouldn't be the only girl.

"Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy. You're coming with me, let's go." I said. Short, sweet and to the point was how this was gonna go down.

They all stared at me before simultaneously saying, "What?" I groaned and rubbed my temples.

"You have to take me to some town to get groceries for the guild." No movement. "COME ON, it's Master's orders!"

"But can't we just get them ourselves? Why with _you?" _Natsu whined.

Gray nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I was thinking that too."

I clenched my fists and stomped my foot. "CAUSE I'M THE SERVANT HERE, ASSHOLES, AND YOUR COMING WITH ME WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" I whipped out a butter knife form seemingly nowhere. "NOW GET YOUR LAZY ASSES MOVING!"

Everyone sweatdropped.

"But it's just a..." Gray weakly pointed at the weapon, instantly regretting it when I jabbed him in the hand. Hard.

"Butter or not, it's still a knife. Now _go_."

Lucy sighed, standing up. "You do realize we could easily over power you, right? We are wizards, after a-" I put the dull knife to her neck in a thug-like way. "Come on, crew, were leaving!" I happily and creepily chirped. If they thought I was going to miss out on going on a mission with **TEAM NATSU**, then they were thoroughly wrong.

"Natsu, I'm scared." Happy whimpered as he stared at me fearfully.

He snorted. "No kidding." I spun around at lightning speed.

"What was that?"

He hid behind the small blue cat. "N-nothing!"

_Hm, things are finally going my way._


	8. Exploring is Awkward

~Somewhere in the outskirts of Magnolia~

Lin widened his eyes slowly, taking in the new scenery. What exactly happened back there? He shook his head that held a horrible migraine. Wait, where was Lily? He whipped his head around, thanking god as he saw her lying next to a couple bushes. "Lily!" He cooed, smiling that he found her.

Wait. That was no ordinary Lily.

Her body was now two-dimensional, and not only that, but a picture. Like, anime picture.

No way. Was this for real? It...Just wasn't possible they were in an anime now!

After minutes and minutes of freaking out, similar to how Aspen did, he concluded that him and his best friend were somehow transported to the world of _some sort_ of cartoon. It could be anything.

He wondered how she was going to take the whole idea. They both adored anime and manga, though, so her reaction couldn't be too bad, could it? But knowing Lily...

He decided now was the best time to wake her up. Now or never, after all. He creeped up to her and shook her gently. "Lily! Get up!"

She flinched, and her blue eyes popped open. With her stellar instincts, she immediately stuck out a foot to kick the stranger in his **area**.

Down went Lin.

"Oh...kay...ow..." He whispered. Lily widened her eyes in surprise, shuffling to help him. But then she got angry.

"Lin! Don't sneak up on me like that, you idiot! You scared me!"

The Vice President then remembered how she got here. "W-wait? W-what happened? We...were...on the roof and...that light..." She then realized that her surroundings weren't normal. Something was terribly off.

"W-what?" She screamed bloody murder. Lin weakly got up and began to explain their current situation. Lily's breath hitched in fear.

"Lin! S-stop joking around! It's not funny! There is just no way possible that we...we could have been.." She was physically shaking. This couldn't be happening to her! She was a Judo Master, Vice President of Eaglewood High School! She did _not _have time for this!

She held her head in panic as she paced around. Lin put his hands on his best friends' shoulders. "Lily...please calm down..."

She looked him in his warm brown eyes. "How could I possibly calm down?" She began quietly. "We're stuck in some kind of god knows where dream world and...And..." She teared up, so upset by the shock of the moment. Lin hated to see her like that.

He pulled her into a hug and sighed. "It's gonna be okay...I know it'll be...trust me, Lil, please." _I'll always protect you._

Surprisingly, she shoved him away stubbornly. "Alright, fine. But if we end up getting killed or something, it's entirely fault." Lily said darkly. Nervous, Lin nodded his head. "Okay, now let's go look around or something...try to find out where we are."

And so the duo ventured further into the woods, not knowing what would await them.

"I can't believe this is even happening...I mean, you look so different, Lin! Just...like an anime person." Lily said rather dreamily. She couldn't help but ponder on what she looked like.

Lin only cocked his head. "Really? You look different, too. You make a pretty anime girl, Lil." He blushed scarlet, looking away bashfully. His friend did the same.

"Q-quit it. Now is no time for flattery." She silently smiled.

After an hour so more of walking, Lin stopped walking altogether. "What is it?" Lily asked.

He shook his head, frustrated. "I don't get it. We've been walking _forever_. There's got to be an easier way to see where we are." He looked to the trees. "I'll be right back."

Before Lily could disagree, the black haired boy had begun to climb a tree, and doing pretty good. It was obvious he had some muscle. Unlike a certain main character we know. Ahem ahem ahem.

"Lin! Be careful, you idiot! You're gonna fall!" Lily cupped her hands around her mouth, calling out to him. He was halfway up.

Lin simply ignored the nag-ish woman, continuing to use each branch as a stepping stone. _Almost there..._Finally, the boy had reached the top of the tree. Brushing leaves out of his face, he looked out to what he saw. A town.

Or, an anime town, if you wanted to get specific. It was rather large, and out at the very edge of it was a large building that looked quite fancy. From so far away, nothing looked familiar. _Well, at least we know we're close to civilization. _

Lin jumped his way back down to report to Lily of the news. "We're in luck. There's a huge town right behind this forest. We gotta go that way." He pointed west.

Lily's eyes brightened. "Good! Now we can finally figure this all out."

As they turned to leave, they were surprised by a flashing light in front of them, and covered their eyes. When they reopened them, an extremely confused looking blonde boy stared back.

"What the hell?"


	9. Allergies Can Come In Handy

We were currently walking to the train station, planning to head over to some place called Misopile Town. I'm pretty sure everyone was pissed off because

One: I dragged their lazy asses here in the first place and

Two: I wouldn't stop singing that catchy song Stuck Like Glue by Sugarland. I hated it with a deep, fiery, hell-spawned passion, and yet I had a bit of a love for it.

My angelic voice carried through the streets, its pitch perfect melody capturing the hearts of everyone blessed enough to catch a hear as I frolicked joyfully throughout the town.

"I'M STUCK ON YOU, WHOA-OH WHOA-OH STUCK LIKE GLUE~! YOU AND ME BABY WE'RE STUCK LIKE GLUE! WHOA-OH WHOA-OH STUCK LIKE GLUEEE!"

Okay...so maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. Especially considering my voice had cracked with every high note and everyone I passed flinched in physical pain.

I guess that Gray was the first one to lose it because he suddenly screamed, "ENOUGH WITH THE DAMN SINGING! Seriously, the more you sing it the dirtier it sounds!" I blinked furiously.

"Say what? That song is not at all dirty! It is a song of love and passion, get it?" By that time we had all stopped walking all together as me and the ice mage got in each other's faces, chests heaving and eyes narrowing.

He growled. "How the hell do you know? Didn't you lose your memory of everything?" Uh oh. He got me there. I scoffed at him.

"That song _just so happens _to be one of the things that I've remembered."

"Well either way, the song sucks. Whoever wrote it deserves to burn in hell."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK ABOUT SUGARLAND THAT WAY, YOU BASTARD!"

"WHAT THE HELL IS A 'SUGARLAND?'"

I widened my mouth and bared my teeth, ready to make a meal out of Gray, before Lucy stuck out her hand sharply.

"Guys! Cut it out! It's just a stupid song, can't we just go already?" She yelled, making me wince. Snow Ball and I nodded and apologized quietly, before walking off. I glanced at Natsu, surprised that he hadn't got into the feud as well.

He was staring at me curiously and silently. I looked away as quick as I could to avoid any further awkwardness.

Well _that_ was out of character for him. It wasn't like him to be completely silent and serious, outside of a battle that is. I sighed, adjusting the white mask on my face. That's right; I had put it back on. Just looking at Happy had made me sneeze, so I was forced to get it out.

"Um, why are you even wearing that thing, Aspen?" Lucy asked me over her shoulder.

"I'm allergic to cats. Happy, to be more specific." I shrugged. "From what I remember, it can get pretty bad if I get a reaction. So I'm hoping this will protect me!"

Happy went wide-eyed. "Whaaa? You're allergic to me?" I nodded.

"Whoa! So that means I could kick your butt in a fight, no problem!" He cheered, raising his little paws.

"Thanks." I deadpanned.

* * *

><p>Pretty soon, there we were. The train station! "Finally!" Lucy breathed out. Natsu made a face of utter despair. "Do we <em>have<em> to go?" He sulked, looking at me with puppy eyes.

"Natsu has a bad case of motion sickness." Gray informed me, not that I didn't not already not know. Wait, what?

"Ahh." I smiled toothily at Natsu. "Well, looks like your gonna have to suck it up and grow a pair. I deal with your partner, don't I?" I ignored the foul glare Happy sent my way.

He leaned against the wall. "Why couldn't we have taken Wendy? That way she coulda fixed me." He slurred. I rolled my eyes.

"Attention! All trains heading towards Misopile are now closed!" I jumped in shock. _The hell did he say?_ "Say WHAT?" Gray screamed at him.

"They're closed. Railroad got damaged and now there's no way to get there by train." We all let out cries of anguish, except for Natsu, who was jumping for joy.

_Really, God? Really? You are willing to go to _all_ measures to piss me off, aren't you?_

"Well, great. Now what?" Lucy said with a foul look. I didn't blame her.

"There has to be some other way to get there." I looked at Gray, him being the most intelligent one here. "Well, uh, from what I remember, the only other way is to go across Mt. Memphis." A mountain? As in, snow mountain? Cold, blizzard-y, avalanche-y mountain? AHAHAHAHAHA I don't think so.

Being allergic to the cold, I would surely die up there. A mountain is a living hell for me.

I made an unsure face. "Uh, I don't think-"

"Mt. Memphis? I've never been there, sounds like fun! Maybe this way we'll get to fight some monsters!" Natsu chimed in with enthusiasm.

"But guys, I-"

Lucy clapped her hands together. "It's a go, then! I actually have warm clothes on, so we should be good! Let's go!"

"GUYS, IF WE GO UP THERE I WILL _DIE_." I snarled at them all, pissed that they so rudely interrupted me. Everyone blinked.

"Geez, it's not _that_ long of a walk. Someone in your shape should make it...maybe." Natsu snorted.

I held my fist up in a non-intimidating way. "That is _not_ what I meant, Natsu! I am allergic to the cold, as well. If we go into some kinda blizzard filled mountain, I will die." I stated.

Gray's jaw dropped. "Allergic to the cold? Is that even possible? I've never heard of it! You sure you didn't get your memories all mixed up?"

"Positive! I just can't go!" Man, and I was all pumped up for going on a trip! _Damn allergies, why do even exist? I hate you. You're so damn mean. You should just die. Go away and never com-_

"Although that's true, you should be fine, Aspen! We have a fire dragon slayer on our side, after all! If things get too close for comfort, then we'll just have him warm you up!" Lucy said.

Oh. That was actually a pretty good idea.

"What? Why me?" Natsu said in defense. "Why can't you or Gray do it?"

"Because I'm an ice mage, moron! I would just hurt her even more!"

"Then what about Lucy?"

"I only have spirits, and I'm not sure how warm she would be inside of Horologium!"

_Geez, am I really that big of a problem?_

Natsu slumped in defeat. "Fine." He then looked at me. "You better thank me later for this."

My lips pulled upward as I looked away awkwardly.

* * *

><p>I was cold.<p>

Unfortunately, Mt. Memphis was in the middle of some god forsaken snow storm, and we were charging through it with all of our might. Natsu and Gray seemed fine, but Lucy and I were practically dying. Little did that girl know, she had it easy.

My skin felt it was on fire, every inch of it burning and itchy. Just the side effects of Urticaria. I wasn't sure how my skin even appeared as I was buried into the contents of my jacket, and using Gray's shirt as a blanket.

"AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE HELPING ME?" I shrieked at the dragon slayer, who was far from doing his job.

"You seem alright to me. You haven't passed out yet, have you?"

...that _was_ true. Natsu wasn't supposed to help me until I was hanging by a thread. I suppose _this _state wasn't good enough for him.

"Ugh. You jerk, do you have any idea how much pain I'm in?" I weakly poked out my hand through the sleeve, and through the crazy white flurries I could see that my skin was a deadly pinkish-red. Ah, perfect. That meant I was in stage two, and stage three was coming up close. Fainting.

_Stupid Natsu, better have your fire ready whenever I pass the hell out._

So we continued the climb on the mountain. By the first two hours, I was in a living hell. Not only did I have to deal with my allergies, but I had to hike my way up a mountain.

UPHILL, GOD DAMMIT. And let me tell you, uphill isn't fun.

I was seemingly the only one tired out of all of us, as I was panting like some overweight, elderly dog who had just chased the mail guy across a marathon.. Jesus, I was so out of shape.

Under my jacket, it was crazy. I was a big, cold, sweaty shivering mess. Not fun. _I'm beginning to wonder if this trip is worth the trouble..._

"Hey, guys, how long have we been walking?" Lucy asked randomly from inside of Horologium, which wasn't big enough for the both of us.

"Uh, I don't know, three hours maybe? Why?" Gray said back. I still couldn't believe that guy was able to walk _shirtless_ through this shit. I knew he was an ice mage, but still! That's, like, inhuman!

Inside of the clock, Lucy made a pondering face. "Hm, then it must be getting late. If we stick out like this any longer, then I bet we're gonna end up getting mauled by a horde of monsters." She paused for a minute. "We're gonna have to find some shelter or something. And besides that, look at how tired Aspen is! I don't know how much longer she can go on." Lucy looked at me with concern.

"Thanks for the encouragement, Luce." I muttered quietly, silently tearing at my broken out skin.

_God, that feels so good. Haha, that just sounded naughty. Why does scratching even feel good in the first place? Guess it's just one of those mysteries in the world, like how the hell I was sent here. Ah, well, it all is for the best in the end. ...right?_

"Aw, man, I didn't even get to fight, though." Natsu said in despair. "Gray! Fight me!" He pointed at Snow Ball, now in a fighting stance.

"What? Hell no, go find your own sparring buddy! I just wanna get the mission over with, so stop wasting my time."

"Wasting your time? Why, you li-"

Lucy, after her Horologium had run out of time, stuck her hands out. "Guys, do this later! We got to find some shelter." Happy nodded. "Aye! Aspen looks like she's already kicking the bucket. Right, Aspen?"

I growled, "Shush, cat, I'm fine. But I would like to just sit down for a change, so let's go." I grabbed Gray by the hair while Happy took Natsu, and together with Lucy we dragged the boys to whatever safe area we could find.

* * *

><p>"FINALLY! WE'RE SAVED!" I screamed, sprinting into the dark stone cave I found. It had assortments of ice and snow everywhere.<p>

Inside, although it was only slightly shadowed, I felt immediately warmer. The strong breeze had no way of getting in here.

I fell on my back pathetically as I rolled around in pure bliss. That bliss lasted 8 seconds, tops. Because I was in a much warmer area, my skin wasn't adjusting too well. It screamed out at me in defiance, getting that horrible feeling of burning up.

"Owowowowowowowowowowowowow!" I cried, jumping up in pain. I could never get a break, could I?

"Hey, it's pretty warm in here. Good job, Aspen!" Lucy applauded me. Hmph, at least _someone_ appreciated my talent for doing random but sometimes only slightly helpful things.

She shook the snow out of her blonde hair. "Hm, there we go!" She turned around towards the entrance where Natsu and Gray stood. They were busy staring each other down.

"Come on in, guys, this should be okay!" The two teens made their way in and looked down at the crumpled pile of me. "What?" I asked, giving them the suspicious eye.

They looked at me surprised. "Aspen, you look like a tomato." Gray bluntly said.

I blinked, before sighing. _So, my entire body is red as well? Now that I think about it, my face does kinda burn._

I turned my gaze to the floor, huddling closer to myself. "That's what happens whenever I get a reaction from the cold."

Although I was slightly better, I was still freezing my ass off. _I wonder how I managed to not faint all this time. Guess I'm just a trooper like that, heh._

Gray bent down with his hands on his hips and inspected me, we were noses away. "Damn, you really weren't kidding about all this. Does it hurt?"

"NO SHIT, SHERLOCK!" I screamed as I fell on my back from the pressure of the yell. "Can we just go to sleep now? I'm tired and in pain, and just wanna get to civilization." I know I was being a big baby, but in my opinion I had every reason to be. There was just too much, too soon!

Everyone sat down as Gray nodded. "Alright, fine. But we're gonna have to get up _really early tomorrow._ Think you can handle that?" Crap. How the hell could I manage that? Well, I had to think of it this way. The sooner I woke, the faster we could get to town. Town meant warmth. No, town meant _food. _As in, _bacon _food. Yeah, I should be able to do it.

"Yeah, I should be fine. Now everyone shut up and go to bed." I said, crawling like a spider to the farthest corner of the cave for extra warmth. "Psh, so much for helping me, _Natsu._" I whispered harshly before closing my eyes.

* * *

><p>It was now the deepest of night, and everyone was sound asleep. Or, they were, until a loud, violent roar finally awoke someone.<p>

The pink haired boy covered his ears and groaned. "Ugh, the hell is that?" It sounded like a ball had gotten stuck inside of a tuba. And the tuba was heavily damaged. And the tuba player sucked at playing tuba. And said tuba player had a deadly cold.

"_Oh." _Natsu said darkly, looking at the source of the reason for him being awake. It was Aspen's horrendous snores. They erupted from her like lava from a volcano.

_Can't she just be quiet for one minute?_ Now fully awake, Natsu decided to see on how the girl was doing. Honestly, he had though she was just lying about the sickness for some unknown reason, but after he saw that her once golden skin was a deadly pink, he could no longer call bullshit. Aspen had her knees pulled up to her face, burying herself into their warmth. She was shaking rather violently, but none the less her snores sounded just fine.

Her skin was still red...

Natsu did feel a tiny bit guilty that he came here to protect her from this illness, and he had yet to do anything. Maybe just this once.

He sat down right next to her body, and carefully inserted her into his arms. He almost dropped her.

"Holy shit!" He cursed. Aspen's body was beyond the point of cold. He leaned back against the cave, pulling her closer. His body heat immediately began to take effect on her. Her skin burned not from Natsu, but from the sudden change in climate.

Causing her to suddenly wake up.

* * *

><p>Everything was peaceful. I was having a strange dream about being stuck in the world of Mario and having to deal with Mario and Luigi's silly situations. Sound familiar?<p>

But then, everything halted as I felt a horrible pain erupting from my skin. My eyes flashed open, only to realize I was in someone's arms. I bit my lip to keep from yelping.

_Oh god, who is it? Did I get kidnapped? By a Vulcan? Oh no, maybe it's like that pedo-monkey that tried to rape Lucy! I DONT WANNA BE RAPED BY A-_

"Geez, won't you just warm up already!" I froze at the voice as I was shuffled deeper into someone's chest. Oh my god. **Why was Natsu holding me.**

Not knowing what to do, I pretended to snore. Although it sounded fake, he seemed to buy it because he did nothing. Just continued to hold me in his arms.

Okay, this was seriously getting awkward. Probably not for him, but for me, yeah! Utter silence filled the air uncomfortably. Wait a minute, was he...

I very, very carefully looked behind me, seeing Natsu sleeping. HE FELL ASLEEP? I groaned, was I really supposed to stay like that? But, although...I had to admit, Natsu was quite comfy. And not to mention, his body was like a personal heater, and it felt really good. The burning was now gone, and the only thing I could feel was Natsu's warmth. Taking a quick peak at my hand, I saw it was normal again.

I smiled to myself. _Alright, fine. Just this once._ _Maybe._

I pressed myself into him and my chorus of snores restarted.


	10. Screwed Up Dreams And Dangerous Crowbars

This chapter was just...wow. Very long, first off. Took me a while to complete. And as for the beginning...I have no excuse except for boredom and many sugar-filled lemonades. I don't really know if I like this chapter though, I don't know why. Too rushed, maybe? Dunno, but I had to add the village thing because I needed the gang to be gone a bit longer. But anyway, thanks for reviewing, everyone!

Warning: This chapter will contain creepy dreams, randomness, slight battling, and Aspen getting the shit beat out of her rather coincidentally.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Aspen, honey, where's the milk?" The love of my life called to me through the kitchen. "In the fridge, silly!" I giggled with glee.<p>

My love gave me a wink and returned to cooking, god how I adored the food that my love cooked. We will never be separated, me and my love. We will mate and breed, making millions of beautiful offspring.

I walked over to my love and kissed their neck gently. My love laughed. "I love you, Aspen."

My love turned around to look me in the eyes. "I love you, too...Happy."

Happy looked at me as I scratched his white stomach. "Let's make love, right here and now! Then when we make dinner it will be blessed with the scent of sweet, sweet passion!"

I nodded eagerly. "Yes, Happy! Of course! You are so brilliant, you cute little cat you!" I poked his nose. "Meow for me, Happy! Please!"

"MEOW! MEOW! RAWR MEOW RAWR!"

"I LOVE YOU HAPPY!"

"I LOVE YOU AS WELL, ASPEN!"

It was then I woke up from possibly the most horrifying thing I have ever witnessed in my life.

* * *

><p>"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" I screamed, eyes still closed, trying to clean away the images that were burned into my mind. "Oh crap...that's gonna stay with me <em>forever.<em>" I shuddered. Did I really just have a sexy dream about me and HAPPY? I mean, god damn, I'm pretty sure that's beastiality!

'A dream is a wish the heart makes!' Some sick voice chirped from within me. I screamed in response and finally opened my eyes, trying to jump forward from where I was.

I smacked into glass.

"OW! WHAT THE HOLY HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" I pounded on the glass in a panic, and then noticed I was surrounded by walls. Tight, wooden walls. OH JESUS...DID THE PEDO-MONKEYS FINALLY GET ME? DID THEY LOCK ME UP IN SOME BOX?

_**DID THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ME WHILE I WAS OUT? NOOOO! IM NOT READY TO LOSE MY V-CARD! NONONONONONONONONONONONO-**_

"Miss Aspen, please calm down." I froze as some voice spoke to me from within my confinement. Wait...Horologium? "I-is that y-you Horologium?" I whimpered. It could just be a raping monkey trying to trick me, after all.

"Yes, that is me. You refused to wake up this morning, so Miss Lucy decided to summon me and carry you around."

Oh. "So, there's no raping monkeys?"

"Uh...no."

MY face lit up with victory. "THANK YOU, GOD!" Finally, that jerk decided to do me some good.

"Miss Lucy also requested that should you wake up, to let you out. Farewell, Miss Aspen." I looked as if I was about to cry. "Nooooooooooo, don't make me walk, Horologium!"

He disappeared and I ended up on the cold, cold snow. In front of me were Lucy, Gray, Natsu and another member whose name I refuse to say after the earlier incident, all who of which I somehow failed to see before.

"You're awake! Finally!" Gray said disapprovingly. I cocked my head. "What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes with a yawn.

"My guess is around nine." My jaw dropped dramatically.

"NO WAY! I'm awake at nine?"

The shirtless man rolled his eyes. "If you didn't wanna be up this early, then why did you wake up?"

My eyes went blank with fear and disgust. "**I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT." **He nervously backed up as a wicked black aura surrounded me as I recalled what I had seen.

"What happened, Aspen?" OH MY GOD IT WAS HIM. I let out a terrified cry and fell over, crawling backwards. "Y-you...stay away! DON'T EVEN LOOK AT ME! BAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I, strangely, let out the noise of a sheep. _God, see, this is what happens when I wake up this early for no reason. I lose all sense of sanity._

"Hey! Don't talk to him that way! What did Happy ever do to you?" Just hearing the wicked name made me wince and I turned to Natsu with a light bulb flickering over my head.

"Natsu, punch me." _If I don't forget about that dream, it will haunt me for the rest of my life. _He went furrowed his eye brows. "What?"

I stepped up to him trying to put on a brave face. "You heard me! Punch me, and don't hold back! This is important, Natsu, my _future_ depends on this punch!"

He blinked at me. "...Are you serious?"

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW KNOCK THE CRAP OUT OF ME, DAMMIT!"

He grinned widely. "If you say so!" I saw him pull back a fist and then_...SWEET BALLS! OWWWW!_

* * *

><p>I woke up for the second time they day, this time my left eye being extremely sore and aching, and my head having its own heartbeat.<p>

"Blurghhh...smeagle-smeee..." I murmured nonsense as I often did after waking up. Blinking, I found my body had been slung over someone's shoulder. What happened?

Oh, wait, NOW I remember.

_*Flashback*_

_"If you say so!" Natsu punched me right square in my left eye socket. I went down with blood dripping down my face. It was then that my mind decided to realize that in order to lose your memory, you must hit your head. Not your face. _GOD DAMMMMMITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT T!

_It seemed as if luck was on my side, though, as I fell head first into some huge rocks. Well, at least, it was lucky in my opinion, but I'm not sure if other people would consider smashing your head into a field of fresh rocks 'lucky'._

_"A-Aspen!" Someone screamed. "You idiot! You actually did it?"_

_"What? She asked me to, didn't she?"_

_"Oh my god, look at her face!"_

_"You asshole, how hard did you get her?"_

_"I barely even used my power! T-that was almost nothing!"_

_. . ._

_"She must be seriously weak."_

_"NATSU!"_

_"She hit her head, too. Looks like she's out cold. What should we do?"_

_I felt horrible pains growing on my eye and the back of my head. Someone lifted me up._

_"Um, we can't really go anywhere for help, so it looks like we're gonna have to carry her down the mountain ourselves."_

_"Natsu, get your ass over here. You hit her, you carry her."_

_"What? No way! That's not fair! I only did what she asked!"_

_"Stop complaining and do it, you flame head!"_

_"Guys, come on, don't fight! We have to get help for Aspen!"_

_"Grr, fine I'll do it." Someone picked me up and roughly threw me over their shoulder. Ow._

_Everything faded from my world as I fell into a quiet, _dream-less_ slumber._

_*Flashback End*_

_Wait a minute, why did I get Natsu to hit me, again? Hm...I was trying to forget something, but I don't remember what. So that means IT WORKED! I rise victorious!_

"Hey, I think Sleeping Beauty's finally awake." Gray chuckled at me. The person who held me stopped walking. "Really? Thank god!" And so I was so kindly shoved off his shoulder and slid onto the ground.

I brushed myself off and hissed at Natsu. He blinked. "So, um, why did you want me to hit you again?"

I smiled slyly. "Haha, um, long story. But still, it all worked out, so good job!" I encouragingly pat his shoulder.

He flashed me a sexy smile. Damn him. "Really? Thanks!" He spun to Gray and Lucy. "See that, guys, I did _good_!" I shivered, remembering we were still on the chilly mountain. But at least the snowstorm was gone.

"How long is it gonna take to get off this thing?" I questioned the gang, reffering to the hellhole of a mountain we were currently stuck on.

"Well, the boys thought it was best to take a 'shortcut', and now we're...kinda lost."

I growled. You have got to be kidding me! "How hard is it to get off a damn mountain! Just head downwards!"

Lucy kicked the snow with a pout. "Well, we don't know which path is the right one to Misopile! For all we know, we could be heading right back to Magnolia!"

I put a hand on my hip and pointed a finger. "Then we shall go that-a-way!" I honestly didn't know where that way was, just a good ol' guess.

Lucy squealed with joy. "You know the way?"

"Nope. Just an educated guess, is all."

Her joy deflated.

"I guess we have no choice. Let's go!"

We all had no idea of the strange events to come by going the way that I said.

* * *

><p>So far, the road we chose was looking pretty good. It was getting warmer and warmer with each step. <em>I have the best sense of direction ever! <em>I mentally cheered.

Then, a rustling something came from the bushes in front of us. "Eh?" I said, walking closer to it. It rustled some more. Until...

"AIAIAIAIIAIAIAIAIAIIAIAAIAIA I!" An Indian style sound erupted as a very scary looking thug jumped on me.

"Wahhh! Get it off! Get it off!" I screamed, looking over to see that a ton of the Indian-acting thugs were circling my friends.

"Aspen!" Lucy reached out a hand, but a thug shoved her back. Natsu's fists burst into flames. "A fight, huh? I'm getting fired up!" I squirmed under the thug's body.

"NATSU, YOU ASS! THAT'S ALL YOU CARE ABOUT?"

He ignored me. Then one of the thugs held out some kinda pole-stick-thing which held a pretty blue orb. Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Happy all fell to the ground.

"Eh...what's happening...I'm sleepy."

"Hey...I'm..not done yet..."

"Aye, sir..."

I gaped at them. Did that pole put them to sleep? "Hey, what the hell, guys? What are you trying to pull?" I asked. The thugs also ignored me as they picked up the fallen bodies of my friends.

"H-hey! Leave them alone!" The thug got off of me and picked me up by my jacket. "And this one?" He actually spoke. One of the others shook their head. "Not a mage, leave her be."

Did...they just reject me? ARE YOU SERIOUS?

"Don't take them! Hey! I WAS TALKING TO YOU, YOU DIRTY SON OF A BITCH!"

Ignored, again.

I was helpless as they carried off my friends. And then, they all froze. The 'leader' that had let me free stuck his hand out, then they walked forward and all of them disappeared. Just like that.

"WHAT THE HECK?"

I put my hands on my head and panicked. "Oh god they were taken! What should I do? Should I try to go back to Fairy Tail? Should I try to go to Misopile? GOD DANGIT!" My eyes flashed to the area where they disappeared.

"Maybe I can trigger something..?" I walked around the area for what seemed like hours. No reaction. Then, I stood right in the spot the leader did and stuck my hand out. A weird, distorted wall became clear and my hand was in it.

"EWW!" I backed up and retracted my hand. The wall disappeared.

I tried it again, and there it was. I stepped slowly into the 'wall'. It felt all gooey. Ew. I found myself inside of it now, and it felt as if my body was sent somewhere at light speed.

I was in a brand new scenery, some kind of village. Except, it looked like the village belonged to some Mafia guys, as it was all gangster-ed out. _Oh greaaaaat._

I hid behind a building in a hurry, and tried my best to spot the guys that had taken Lucy and company. But I couldn't see worth heck without glasses/contacts, so I was having a hard time. Many different men were walking around here. Where the hell were my friends?

And to think, this was all to go get some groceries.

I mentally groaned.

But, playing spy was kinda fun. I spun around like a retard in the shadows, trying to find my crew. 'Tis was then I ran into _him._ A huge, bald man grinned down at me as I bumped into his strong, firm chest.

"Crap. Crap. Crap. CRAP!" I cried out as he carelessly picked me up with two hands. "What is a little poodle like you doing around here?" _Did he just call me a __**poodle**__?_

"Please, please, don't eat me."

He let out a hearty laugh. "Eat you? No way! That would be such a waste for a young, god-like girl such as yourself! Maybe I'll eat you _after_ we fool around some."

I gave him a truly petrified face. "Oh-oh-ohmygod." He went in to touch my goods and with my ninja-reflexes I bit his hand. _OH GOD IT TASTES LIKE DIRT AND SOY MILK._

"OW! Little brat!" He let a hand go to hit me and I badass-ly slipped through his fingers and punched him in the Ding Dongs.

He let out a groan and I took that chance to get the heck outta there.

The problem is, I sorta made myself known to everyone else.

"AAAAHHH! SOMEONE HELP ME, THAT PEDOFILE TRIED TO RAPE ME AND HE CALLED ME A POOOOOODLE!" Everyone and I mean **everyone **stared at me. Luckily, I had found my unconscious crew members and their captives strolling around the corner.

Unluckily, those certain captives came after me. I screamed as we played a game of Cat and Mouse, but good thing I was somewhat sort-of fast and these guys were_ really_ slow. I saw the leader and a few others take my friends into a large building. I tried to go after them, but by then, the whole village was after me.

"Get back here, you!"

"You think you can just sneak into our territory!"

"I'm gonna get you, poodle!"

"AHHHHHHH! LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!" I whipped around a corner that was near the big building. The village dumbasses kept running.

"She went that way!"

"Hurry!"

"Haha, suckers." I panted heavily, also not missing to grab a handy little crowbar in the corner.

"Alright, Mission: Save The Dumbasses is ready to go!" I said aloud with a smile. _This will be my first fight ever!_ _This is gonna be so awesome!_

* * *

><p>Spin, spin, spin, STOP!<p>

….

Spin, spin, spin, spin...

That's how it has been for the last fifteen minutes. As if sneaking into the building itself wasn't hard enough...

*Flashback*

I squeaked as I sprinted towards the coincidentally open window. With my weapon in hand, I jumped up pathetically, just barely reaching the windowsill. I struggled to do a pull-up. No success, there.

I swung side to side, until I was able to touch it with my own feet. I squat down whenever I had pulled my entire body on and ever so gracefully fell through the window, into the room.

I clenched the crowbar in fear and excitement and left the room, officially beginning the search.

*Flashback*

So far there was no sign of Team Natsu or the scary men. Where the hell could they be?

The place sure was run down, though.

Everything was torn and dirtied, and had been extremely damaged altogether. _What the hell is up with these guys?_

I kept spinning like a spy, looking into every room I passed. Still no one.

"Dammit, where IS every-"

"Hey, there she is!" Whoops, looks like I was caught. I straightened my grip on my crowbar and stuck it out like a shield. The thugs surrounded me; there was a _lot_ of them.

"S-stay back! I'm warning you!" They all got ready to charge, but a new man popped up and whispered something I could not hear. Then, more than half of the thugs ran off. From the twenty that were there, four were left. _HOORAY!_

They ran and pointed at me, making Indian noises. I made an awkward wannabe fighting stance. "Bring it, fools!"

I was honestly expecting them to bring out some magic power or awesome weapon, but I guess not. They probably thought that because they were grown men and I was a tiny teenage girl, they could overpower me.

Normally, that would completely be the case, but this time I had my handy crowbar to back me up. I yelped as the man pulled back a fist. I then freaked out and began to swing my weapon. Everywhere.

"AHH! DON'T HIT ME PLEASE DON'T HIT ME AHHH!" I didn't realize that,

One: There were loud crashes and explosions coming from the other side of the building and

Two: I had knocked all the men down.

Not realizing two, I kept swinging with my eyes closed for dear life. I accidentally, somehow, managed to whack myself in the face with my own weapon. "SWEET JESUS!" I held my surely bleeding nose with my two hands, I had dropped the crowbar. "T-that really hurt." I whimpered to myself, wiping away stray tears.

WHAT? I got hit in the face with a crow bar, I'm allowed to cry!

I kicked said bar. "STUPID THING! YOU DON'T DO THAT TO YOUR MASTER!"

I was then caught by surprise by one of the men. He panted into my ear. "Gotcha!"

I let out a miniscule scream. "AH NO!" I elbowed him and he dropped me. "HAHA, suck it!" I grabbed the weapon I had previously been kicking and wacked him with it in the stomach.

"Now, tell me where my friends are, or you're gonna get it." I had my crowbar held out dangerously and my hand on his chest.

He ignored my as his eyes glazed over. _WHAT IS WITH EVERYONE IGNORING ME TODAY?_

"God dammit! Please just tell me!"

Ignored.

I let out a roar of frustration. "Fine, then, if that's how it's gonna be!" I was about to attack, before I heard,

"Aspen! We're over here!" Lucy's voice rang out. I glanced towards the voice.

I waved the slightly bloody crowbar happily. "Oh. Hey guys!"

* * *

><p>~Everybody's POV~<p>

Happy was the first to awake. He and the others were in some sorta jail cell. "Eh...Natsu?" He yawned, looking over at his pink haired partner. "Natsu! Wake up, Natsu!"

Natsu shuffled a little before getting up. "Wha~?"

He blinked, then remembering what happened. "Oh yeah! Those jerks put us to sleep!" He looked around, jumping up. "Hey! Come on out, I'm all ready for ya!"

No one was around. "Aw, where did they go! And what's with this cell?" Gray got up next. "Natsu, what the hell are you...wait, where are we?" He shook Lucy's body. "Hey, wake up."

She opened her brown eyes in a fright. "Ah! They put us to sleep!" She scanned the room. "A jail cell?"

Gray nodded. "Seems like it. Those bastards, where the hell are they?" He banged on the metal bars. "HEY! Come out and fight, cowards!"

Lucy put her hands over her mouth as she gasped. "Where's Aspen? Do you think they took her, too?"

Now that everyone thought about it, the obnoxious girl was most definitely not there. "Hm. No idea."

Natsu came up with an idea. "Hey, Lucy, do you have your keys on you?" He asked her. "My keys! Oh no, I hope they didn't take them!"

She reached down and there it was, her pouch of keys. "Thank god!" She looked at Natsu and smiled.

"We could use Virgo to dig us out of here!" She said happily, getting out Virgo's key. The floor was, after all, made out of dirt.

"Open! Gate of The Maiden, Virgo!"

Suddenly, a cute pink-haired maid popped up. "Punishment time, Princess?"

"Virgo, I want you to dig us a hole out of here."

"Yes, Princess." And so the spirit began to dig.

After Virgo had finished and Lucy had sent her back, they were ready to go. "C'mon, let's go kick some ass!" Natsu said, running off to go find the people that took them.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, some of the thugs had come to check on the captives, only to see they were gone. "Uh oh, where did they go?" One asked. "Hurry, go inform the others! We must find them!"<p>

So the first guard ran to go tell the men of the escape. Finally, he arrived at where the many, many thugs were about to maul that one girl from before. She looked scared to death. "Hey! The captives have escaped! You have to go after them!"

Sixteen men ended up leaving to go find the powerful mages that escaped, thinking the four remaining could handle the girl. Oh, how ironic this world is.

* * *

><p>Back with Team Natsu, the four were busy trying to find the thugs. "Where is everyone, dammit!" Gray cried. "They have to be around here somewhere!"<p>

The group heard many war cries behind them. "Oh, well there they are!" Natsu grinned. "Where's our friend?" He asked the men. None answered. "Alright, maybe this will make you talk!"

He puffed up his cheeks and put his fists over his mouth. "Fire Dragon Roar!" Fire burst from his fists in a hose-like manner, violently tearing up the hall and the men in it. Gray stepped up next. A light blue circle formed beneath him, and he put his fist on him palm. "Ice Make: Lance!" Many lances shot forward, each of them hitting their targets.

Lucy summoned her celestial spirit Taurus, and he easily beat the crap out of the men.

* * *

><p>After all was said and done, their side of the building was demolished, only Team Natsu and the fallen thugs remained. "That was far too easy. They didn't even get a hit on us!" Natsu complained.<p>

"Quit complaining." Gray walked up to one of the men and grabbed his shirt, pulling him up. "I suggest you tell us where our friend is now."

The man ended up telling Gray that Aspen had snuck into the village portal to save them, and ended up getting into a wild goose chase with the village.

She had managed to lose them and barged into the building to save them, only to be stopped by the thugs. Apparently she was on the other side of the building fighting off four of their men.

"Typical Aspen." Lucy sweatdropped as she heard the story.

"Let's go get her!" Natsu said. Happy raised an enthusiatic paw.

"Aye!"

The four ran off to go find the newest member of the guild.

"AH NO!" Natsu stopped as he heard the scream for help. It was close, and it was most definitely Aspen's voice. He turned a corner quickly, to find her elbow a man in the face, making him drop her. All the other men were down. She grasped a crowbar and lunged it into the man's stomach. He also noticed how her face was accompanied by a blotch of blood, mostly below her nose.

"HAHA, suck it!"

She put her hand on his chest and was prepared to strike him again. "Now, tell me where my friends are, or you're gonna get it." Natsu grinned at the fact that she was so determined to find them. She was turning into a Faiy Tail mage, all right. The others caught up as well, watching Aspen do her thing.

The thug didn't answer her. In fact, it looked as if he was deliberately ignoring her as he seemed to stare through her. She gave a pissed off look.

"God dammit! Please just tell me!" No answer. Happy made the 'kufufufu' laugh at the girl as she let out a cry of annoyance.

"Fine, then, if that's how it's gonna be!" She was about to hit, but Lucy frantically stopped her. "Aspen! We're over here!"

Her angry face of death turned to one of innocent shock as her mouth made a perfect 'o'. "Oh. Hey guys!" She waved the weapon, running over to her friends.

* * *

><p>~Aspen's POV~<p>

"Where have you been? Are you okay?" I slurred, happy they were safe. Lucy giggled, hugging me. "We were put into some cell, but we managed to escape and beat up those guys that kidnapped. We heard you came to save us!"

I laughed and the back of my head. "Oh, yeah, it didn't exactly go the way I planned..." I'm guessing Lucy finally noticed the blood splattered on my face. "What happened to you? Did they do that?"

I shook my head, calming the growing angry members down. "No, hehe, I sorta...um..whacked myself in the face with this." I held up the bar. Everyone fell to the floor in a fit of laughter. "S-seriously? What a fail! Haha, I can't believe you!" Natsu choked out. I deadpanned at them.

"Thanks for the sympathy."

* * *

><p>"Now, tell us why you kidnapped us." Gray said to the leader whom we tied up. I glared at him evilly. He sighed, and confessed.<p>

"You see, we have to hide in this portal because we are banned members of guilds. We were kicked out for evil sins we did, and we grew to hate all mages. We gave a vow to never use magic again, and to live in this village peacefully. Any mages that tried to come by our village, we would attack because we were scared and angry.

When you came by and spotted us, we thought you were going to destroy our village as others have. So we kidnapped you and we were going to wipe your memories, so that you had no memory of us whatsoever and could never come back. We weren't going to hurt you. Please don't kill us!"

Oh. I guess I would let it slip by, just this once.

Natsu smiled. "It's alright! You were only protecting your people!" Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, we understand. We will just leave and be sure to never tell anyone of this place, okay?"

The leader sniffled. "You mean it?"

"Yep! Promise."

We untied him, much to my displeasure, and he ordered a group to take us back to the mountain.

"Jesus, we still haven't even got those damn groceries yet!" I rubbed my nose, eye, and head, which were all screaming in pain.

"I need a break."

Lucy laughed, patting my back. "Well even so, you had fun, didn't you?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. Smiling, I replied, "Yeah! I guess I did!"

And so we returned to the mountain, our mission not yet done.

* * *

><p>So, there you have it. Feel free to hate all you want, or praise. I don't care. This chapter was major filler, though, don't you agree?<p> 


	11. Camden

~Earth~

The wind blew furiously, making a young man's hair even wilder then it already was. He was currently walking home after a birthday party he had just performed at, and it was easy money. Just with the flick of his wrist, he could make almost any item disappear out of thin air and then came the big bucks. The kids sure did enjoy his little act.

This man was the slightly famous 17 year old Camden Lewis O'Shea. The handsome blonde boy was what you would expect to see in a teenager. What, with his perfectly structured body and to fall for brown eyes, he was one of the most eligible bachelors around. He took pride in his reputation, too.

Another thing the chicks loved about him was his amazing talent with magic. He began magic tricks at age 10, and everything excelled from there. Camden started out with making a coin disappear, not even aware he had done it on his own and not like the instructions said. Then he moved on to bigger and better things. By now Camden could make anything he wanted to disappear, not knowing in the slightest that it was caused by his own power.

Of course, none of it would be possible without the birth of the twins. It all started when Camden was only twelve weeks old, Kellan and Siobhan O'Shea, a young married couple whom, to their devastation, would never be able to have their own children. Camden had grown up living an average American boy life, under the ever loving care of his adoptive parents. Then, when he ten, they were shocked as they were given twin babies.

The twins were, of course, lovely and Kellan and Siobhan seemed to spend all of their time with the newborns, seemingly pushing Camden away. That was when Camden grew interest in magic, trying out a kit he had received a while ago, out of boredom. 'Twas then Camden began to grow fond of magic, and then his love for magic consumed his life, making him growing far away from his busy parents.

Now Camden is an extremely skilled magician, performing at shows and parties, especially for the ladies. He flashed a charming smile at some girls going on a jog. Ah, yes, this was the life.

Once he reached his suburban house, he unlocked the door and sighed, neatly setting his shoes in the corner. Walking into the kitchen, he found a note on the table.

_Camden,_

_We have taken the twins out to the park. Be back later._

_-Dad._

The young boy sighed, throwing the note into the air. He didn't give it a second glance as it disappeared.

He ran to his room upstairs, falling face first into the bed.

He took a coin out of his pocket and out of boredom, made it disappear and reappear. Until, that is, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. On the house next to his, his neighbor of whom he did not know, there were two kids stumbling upon the roof. They looked about his age, but he couldn't tell if he knew them or not.

They peered over the edge, obviously looking for something. Camden narrowed his eyes, his face right up to the window now. Then the girl screamed, pointing above the boy's head. He flipped, reaching at his face as if something were attacking it.

Then, to Camden's shock and horror, some great big portal thing formed behind them. It looked like they didn't notice. But then the boy relaxed, slumping his shoulders. But they began to be pulled into the portal-type thing. Camden couldn't believe he was seeing this.

They called for help, but no one was there. Well, except Camden, but even if he tried he wouldn't have made it in time. The two were absorbed inside the portal, and it disappeared along with them. Camden put his hands on his head. "What the fuck?" He backed up, ready to run out the door. But, then, something pushed him into the wall.

A white little orb.

Camden screamed as it flew around him, as if checking him out very thoroughly. The white orb then transformed into the glowing white shape of a person. Although no features could be seen, the outline of curves proved it was a woman.

"You are a cute one. I cannot wait to play with you, it will be fun, I suspect," A lispy voice said to him in a seductive way. He kept cursing in shock, "What...what the hell are you?"

The strange female laughed in response, her glowing hand cupping Camden's cheek. He smacked it away and ran for it.

The woman didn't bother to stop him in his path, and instead created a portal right in front of the door. "See you later, cutie." The glowing woman disappeared, returning back into a little ball. The ball pushed the utterly confused Camden into the portal, much to his dismay. Everything went strange; colors of every sort were surrounding his world, and he felt his body change in a very strange way.

A dark gray light appeared, clearing out everything in his mind. He fell into slumber. From what he could tell, it seemed like hours as he traveled carelessly through the gray, unconscious. But then a bright white light blinded him, waking him up out of his comatose. Before he knew it, Camden was thrown into some forest looking area, the same kids from before looking at him. But everything was different.

He rubbed at his eyes and groaned. "What the hell?"

* * *

><p>So, Camden! Check! So I have four more OC's to go, if I'm counting right!<p> 


	12. Too Good To Be True!

It was silent as the three teenagers stared at each other, wondering just what the holy fuck was going on.

"Um...are you okay?" Lin asked quietly, trying to start a conversation. The blonde boy stood up in a freak, whipping his head around frantically. He shook his head, finally. "No, I'm not_okay._ I'm pretty sure I just saw you two get absorbed into some portal, and then this woman came, and she changed into a white orb, and then..." His words spilled out.

Lily widened her blue eyes. "Wait, hold on. You saw the white orb as well?" Then that means he was probably sent into a portal just as they were, and that white ball was the source of them.

Camden nodded, continuing. "Y-yeah, and a portal appeared in front of me and I was pushed in...and here I am." He looked at his hands unconsciously, gasping as he noticed that his hands were no longer _hands_. Well, they were hands, although they were, like, drawn hands. As in cartoon hands. "Bahhhh!" He screamed, falling back in shock.

Lily sighed. "Ah, and so he finally notices." She looked at her own hands and frowned. How were they supposed to explain to this boy that they were all stuck in an anime?

Camden looked at the others, realizing they looked that as well. They both had cartoon-ish aspects, with big eyes and perfect features over all. _Do I look like that too?_

"You..you guys are all..." He tried to explain. "Anime? Yeah, we know." Lin mumbled. Camden's face grew even more confused.

"Anime? What the hell is 'anime'?" Camden had heard the word once or twice, there were people at his school that mentioned it. But he had no idea what the thing was.

"Um..anime is.." Lin started, but Lily cut him off. "Anime: Japanese movie and television animation, often having a science fiction theme and sometimes including violent or explicitly sexual material." She memorized the online definition a while ago. "Or, there is manga. The Japanese version of comic books." Camden stared, awestruck.

"Um...so, it's like Japanese cartoons and shit?"

"Exactly."

The brown eyed boy began to feel heavy headed. _Just what have I gotten myself into?_

"So, you've never watched anime before?" Lin asked Camden. They had introduced one another properly, after they had settled what had happened. They indeed concluded that the white orb was the cause of all this, and after Camden explained it was a person, then she and most likely others were behind it. They also decided to stick together, and watch out for any more people that had been transported from their world.

Camden shook his head as they planned to walk towards the town that Lin had found. "Nope. I didn't even know about it until now." The idea that he was in the world of some Japanese show was still completely, absolutely insane. But, it was sort of exciting.

Lin frowned. "Oh. Well, you sure are missing out." His best friend nodded. "Yeah, manga and anime are amazing." Camden blinked and smiled.

"Hm, really? I guess I'll have to wait and see." After all, they were _in_ an anime, so now would be a better time than ever.

The trio then saw a clearing out of the woods, leading to a quaint town. Various cartoon people were walking around like it was just another day in the life. "Finally, we made it!" Lily groaned, putting her hands on her hips and stepping forward.

"Well, what should we do now we're here?" Camden crossed his arms with a sigh.

"Investigate. Maybe this place will give us some clues as to where we are, or more specifically, what manga or anime we are in."

Lily took one last look at each other. The style of their selves was one she couldn't exactly name, but it looked slightly familiar. She had no idea where they were; the possibilities were quite endless.

They walked around, occasionally trading strange and peculiar looks with the town's people. "The more we look around, the more _familiar _this place seems, don't ya think?" Lin looked around suspiciously.

"Not really, no..."

"Yeah, I think your right!" The other two answered simultaneously. With an awkward cough, Lin laughed slightly. "Let's just keep going."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

* * *

><p>The guild was again peacefully serene, without the trouble makers there. The guild master Makarov sat crisscrossed as he drank a mug of alcohol. <em>"<em>I wonder how those three are doing, anyway."

Mirajane smiled motherly. "Causing trouble, I'm sure, but fine, none the less." The old man nodded, chuckling. "That Aspen sure is a weird one, ain't she?"

"In her own way, yes."

"At least she has the body to make up for it." Mirajane frowned, tapping her master on the head. "Master, don't be so crude!" He smacked he butt with ease. "Don't worry, my dear, I haven't forgotten about you, either!"

Before she could reply, three teenagers burst through the door. "It's true!" One of the boys proclaimed his eyes wide with shock. "I knew it! This _is _Fairy Tail!"

* * *

><p>"This town sure is big; we've been wandering for a while." Camden noted thoughtfully, looking around at the still strange cartoon scenery.<p>

Lily nodded, eyes narrowed. "Yeah, that's true. There has to be _something _in this town that will give us a clue!" The blonde scratched his head. "Well in that case..."

He walked up to a middle aged woman and asked her bluntly, "'Scuse me, miss, but do you happen to know what town this is?" She blinked at him and scoffed. "What town? Well, Magnolia, of course! Don't be stupid!" She marched off rudely.

"Bitch." Camden muttered, turning to find two totally shocked teenagers. "What's wrong? You find a clue?"

Lin put his hands on his head. "More like an answer!" He looked at Lily, who nodded. "Yeah, it's gotta be. The style, the town, it all makes sense!" Her eyes sparkled with happiness. Camden stood awkwardly.

"Uh...I'm lost." The two best friends smiled cheekily. "It's Fairy Tail!"

"Fairy Tale? Like a story?"

"No, Fairy Tail, as in animal Tail. It's one of the best mangas and anime ever!" Lily squealed, which was extremely rare for someone of her nature. "I can't believe we're in it!"

Lin nodded, his smile bright. "You probably want us to fill you in, right?" The brown eyed magician eagerly shook his head. What was so great about some show called Fairy Tail?

"Wow." Camden breathed, after being told what this show was.

According to the over excited teens, Fairy Tail was a fairly popular manga with its own anime. In Fairy, the place they were in now was Magnolia, the town holding the guild Fairy Tail. A guild is a 'group' where different mages come together to raise the guild's title and raise their level of magic. Yes, magic, a quality Camden was rather overjoyed to hear about. There were many types of magic, and many of the main characters in the show/book had them.

So the three just stood there, in the middle of the road, talking about Fairy tail and it's utter awesomeness. Now Camden knew about its main characters, the plot, and so on.

"I know, right?" Lily replied with a dreamy sigh. Camden laughed. "Now I'm all excited to see these people and their 'guild."

"Then what are we waiting for? We're in Magnolia, after all, so why don't we go to Fairy Tail already?" Without a second word, they all took off, headed towards where they assumed Fairy Tail was. Finally, they reached the large castle of a place, and barged inside. There, many of the memorable members from the guild were sitting.

"It's true!" Lin gaped. "I knew it! This _is _Fairy Tail!"

An old, short man looked at them with curiosity. "Yes, it is. Why, are you wanting to join?"

Camden assumed that was Makarov, head master of Fairy Tail. He looked over at Lin and Lily, who had looks of pure admiration on their faces. Unknown to Camden, this is what you would call fangirl and fanboy mode.

"J-j-join?" Lin whispered. He was just asked if he wanted to join Fairy Tail? Well _of course_ he did! Lily tried to pick her jaw up off the floor. "Oh my god…" Lily whispered as if she was having a dream come true, which she kind of was.

"Of course! I mean, um, yes, we would very much like to join. R-right, guys?" She nudged the two boys, who nodded frantically.

A white haired woman, Camden assumed she was that Mirajane chick they told him about, motioned for them to follow her. "Well then, welcome to Fairy Tail! Let's go get your guild tattoos!"

The three followed the beautiful girl, still having a hard time believing this was happening.


	13. Members, We Are!

I am SO SORRY about it being so terribly short, it's just that starting today is my birthday weekend so I'm a little booked. Thank you all for being patient with me!

* * *

><p>"This is so weird." Camden muttered. Lin shakily nodded his head. Mirajane then took out a little stamp, and smiled. "So, who's first?"<p>

Since Lily and Lin were too nervous to move, Camden sighed and stepped up. "Uh, me, I guess."

"Where would you like it, and what color?"

Camden cocked his head, wondering what he should choose. Flexing his fingers, Camden held out his left and pointed to his palm. "Here, and in dark red, please." Mirajane nodded and pressed it on, and TADA! A dark red guild tattoo appeared! The blonde stared in fascination.

"Whoa!" He cooed.

Mirajane giggled. "Next!" Much to his displeasure, Lily shoved Lin into the woman. "S-sorry!" He bowed down in apology. As he came back up, he already knew where the tattoo would be. "U-um, yeah, I'll have it on my right hand in, uh, dark blue. T-thanks."

She pressed it onto his hand, and poof! There it was. "Your turn, Lil!" The black haired pair exchanged glares and Lily approached Mirajane with a new attitude. She glanced only for a second at Lin's. "Left hand, bright red. Please and thank you."

Finally, the last one was done. Lily smiled at the tattoo, holding it gently with her right hand. "There you go! You're now official members of Fairy Tail! Congrats!" Lily and Lin were happier than could be. While Camden was a little confused, he too was anxious to see what this world was like.

"So, what are your powers?"

A tense air filled the room as the three teens froze. "Uh...powers?" Camden asked.

"Yeah, what powers do you guys have?"

Oh crap, what if they had to have powers to get into the guild? "It's a surprise, you see!" Lily began. Lin and Camden looked her with shock. "We don't want to spoil the fun and tell you, now do we?" The boys shook their heads.

Mirajane laughed. "Oh, I see now! Haha, how fun!"

The raven haired girl nodded. "Yes, indeed! Now excuse us, we must be going!" She dragged the two teens away with her, into a small corner.

"What the hell was that? We don't have powers." Lin said in a hushed tone. Lily groaned. "Obviously, idiot! But who knows what would have happened if we said we didn't!" Camden sighed heavily. "So, what now?"

Everyone stayed quiet for a moment.

Lin was the first to answer. "I guess we're staying here. I mean, we have no idea how to get back to Earth, and I don't really wanna miss out on a chance like this." They nodded in agreement.

"So, do you think Aspen was sent here, as well? Although I have seen no sign of her." Lily noted. Camden frowned. "Uh, who's Aspen?" As far as he knew, there was no one else with them when he arrived.

"She's the girl we were looking for on the roof."

"Oh." So that must have meant she lived there, which made her Camden's neighbor. Now that he thought about it, he did remember a girl of his age always prancing around outside like an idiot.

They all stood up and stretched. "Alright, for now, we play along. Act as if you have magic and everything." Lily ordered. "We'll figure things out soon enough."


	14. Street Fighting

"I can't believe your keeping that thing." Lucy sighed heavily as I twirled the crowbar around. I had managed to get most of the dry blood off, but it was still a little crusted with brown.

"It's the only thing I can use in a fight. Have you forgotten that, unlike you guys, I'm not a mage?" I huffed, swinging the weapon playfully.

"I guess you're right." She groaned. "But you could at least stop swinging it around like that, you already hit yourself once."

_She has a point..._ I stopped my arm from moving and carefully placed the bar through the loops of my jeans. "Wahhh...I'm so tired...why can't we just be at the damn town already?" I sulked.

Gray decided to pipe into the conversation. "Well maybe if you would stop complaining, time would go by faster." I raised my eyebrows in a 'you wanna go?' way. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Oh, it's on now, Snow Cone!" I hissed at him, ready to verbally kick his ass. But someone else joined in as well.

"Just leave her alone, Frosty, I'm pretty sure she's had a rough time as it is."

I smiled widely at the owner of the voice whom decided to team up with me. Natsu!

"Ha! You heard the man, Gray!" I put my hands on my hips and smirked at the ice mage. It was two on one, no way was he gonna win _this _battle!

"You two aren't worth it." He mumbled and ran up to Lucy, leaving me, Happy, and Natsu behind. "Hehe, that's right. Runnnnn awayyyy, Gray. Just runnnn awayyy." I snickered.

I turned to the pink-haired boy, glad he actually did me some good.

"Good job, Natsu!" Then I remembered something I had foolishly forgotten to do.

_I never thanked him for last night...wow that sounded kinda wrong...or maybe that's just me...god I'm such a pervert..._

I bit my lip and awkwardly choked out, "Uh, um, I forgot to tell you, um, thanks for last night..." I was never really good at thanking people so bluntly like this. Not really good at thanking people, in general. My socially awkward personality and my frightening lack of manners did _not_ mix, that was for sure.

He blinked his black eyes and grinned at me. "No problem, Aspen! It's my job, here, after all." Happy was sure to add an, "Aye!"

A true, sincere smile formed on my lips as I turned away. "Well, um, thanks again, Natsu. You've done a good job as being my personal heater!" I grabbed his warm hand and ran up to Gray and Lucy.

"Now let's get outta here before I collapse of exhaustion!"

* * *

><p>I could practically hear a chorus from Heaven itself, raining it's lovely tune of 'Hallelujah' down on us as we arrived at Misopile. "GOOD LORD, WE'VE MADE IT, MY COMRADES! WE ACTUALLY MADE IT!" I literally fell on my knees on the stony pathway. I cupped my hands together in a pray-like way.<p>

"THANK YOU GOD, FOR THIS GLORIOUS, GLORIOUS MOMENT! FINALLY, YOU DECIDE TO GIVE ME A BREAK! I KNEW STAYING A CHRISTIAN WOULD COME IN HANDY SOME DAY!"

Everyone in view sweat dropped as I babbled to the sky. "Uh, Aspen, you're making a scene..." Lucy pointed out. Psh, as if _that_ wasn't obvious enough. I looked at her with stars in my eyes. "But Lucy~ We're here! We made it! Celebration is in order!"

"Yeah, yeah, later, let's just go get the damn stuff." She pulled me up by my jacket. I slumped my shoulders and gave in. "Alright, fine. I suppose that's a good idea.." And so we began to explore the streets.

The place was sorta similar to Magnolia, except very noticeably smaller. We strolled along, each of us with different expressions.

Lucy looked quite fascinated, Gray looked annoyed and tired, Natsu looked beyond bored, Happy looked...Happy, and I had a dumb smile planted on my face. Yes, we were quite the group.

"Hum hum hum hum...hum hum...hum..." I sang quietly, looking for the place Makarov had told me to shop at. Suddenly, I spotted a small little store that read 'Eisner Inc.'. I assumed that was it, from what I could remember. I turned to face my teammates.

"Okay, guys, you stay here while I go buy everything, okay?" They nodded as I poked Lucy's forehead. "You're in charge. Don't let anyone cause any trouble!" And with that, I skipped off to go buy what we traveled all this way for.

* * *

><p>"And, um, one case of sparkling ashes." I mumbled to the cashier, trying to remember what I was supposed to get. The man smiled handed me a tiny bag. "Here you go, miss. That will be 10,000 Jewel." I exchanged with him a bag of jewel gold crap whatever it was that Makarov gave me. Shoving the tiny ingredients into my pocket, I head outside, ready to go.<p>

The peaceful look on my face disappeared as I stepped outside. There were people all crowded into a large corner, and several men in the middle. They all look like mages. I spotted Natsu and Gray among them. There were chants of "FIGHT, FIGHT!" and "KICK THEIR ASSES, GUYS!".

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"

* * *

><p>Natsu sighed as he leaned against the brick wall of the store, Happy beside him. "It's so boring!" Lucy rolled her eyes. "Can't you just enjoy some peace and quiet for once?"<p>

"But this is _too_ quiet!"

"Aye! This is boring!"

"Ugh. You two are impossible."

Gray was just ignoring them.

Lucy swirled around and leaned on the window of the shop, arching her back. "How long does it take to buy some groceries? Hurry it up, Aspen!"

Suddenly, a hand popped out and harshly smacked Lucy on the bum. "You got a pretty fine ass there, girl." A considerably smooth voice said. Lucy gasped and turned, hiding her bottom from further view.

"And a fantastic rack to boot! I like you!" Lucy stared at a tall brown haired man with piercing purple eyes.

"W-what?" She shrieked with an enraged face. That was when Gray and Natsu stepped in.

"Hey, back off." Gray hissed. The man smirked, amused. "Oh? What was that?" A pink-haired dragon slayer glared at him. "He said back off, buddy, so I suggest you do it."

Mr. Purple Eyes barked out a laugh, "What are two little boys like you hanging out with such a..._matured _lady such as this?" He gestured to Lucy. Gray and Natsu growled.

"Um, sorry, creep, but I'm not interested in perverts such as yourself." Lucy smiled at her own bravery. She put her hands on her hips.

"Why, you little bitch." He hissed out, raising a hand to strike her. Natsu grabbed it before he could do anything. "Listen, pal. We're mages from Fairy Tail. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."

Gray decided to finish for him. "So let's go!" He pushed the man back roughly. Natsu rubbed his hands together excitingly. "This is gonna be a hell of a fight." He watched as several men surrounded him and Gray as backup.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Wescott Blanche, member of the guild Shambolic Chandelier. These are my men." Wescott grinned proudly.

"I'm Natsu Dragneel, and this is Gray Fullbuster, from Fairy Tail."

"Oh, I know much about you two, the all famous ice mage and fire dragon slayer! What a fun fight this will be!" He paused, looking around quickly. "Hm, for the sake of the town, let us keep this fight hand to hand only, yes? No magic?"

A fight without magic was better than no fight at all! Natsu grinned as Gray smirked. Lucy squeaked when all these people formed a large circle around the men, pushing her out of sight. Everyone began to cheer on the mages, and just as the fight was about to begin, a loud, hoarse roar could be heard from nearby. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to see a short brunette with a pissed off look.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"

* * *

><p>Everyone turned to look at me. I kept my threatening look as I glared at some prick with brown hair, he looked like the leader here. Lucy ran to me.<p>

"Aspen! Thank god you're here, they-" I cut her off, throwing her my jacket after removing it. I walked up to my home boys. "Natsu, Gray..." They gulped as I got closer and closer.

I was right in front of Natsu now, and raised my hand. He was quite surprised when I gently tapped his head, tsking. "Shame on you two! You should know me enough by now to be smart and wait for me to join the fight!" Natsu laughed. "Oh, u-uh, yeah, sorry Aspen!"

Lucy's jaw dropped. "You're gonna _join _them?" I reached for my crowbar with a vicious grin. "Of course! Even if I don't know these guys or what they did, there's no way I'm gonna miss out on some good target practice!"

Whipping the steel bar out, I smiled sweetly at the leader and his friends. "Woo! Let's do it!" And thus begun the fight. Several men charged at me, but because of my small stature I ducked down and they rammed into each other.

I wasn't sure how Natsu and Gray were doing, but I could definitely hear cries of pain materializing from their direction.

So far, I was doing pretty good! I hadn't got hit a single time! But, I had yet to hit someone myself...

"I'm coming for you, girly!" A large hairy man screamed at me, ready to maul the hell out of my fragile body. "Oh, shut it, you jackass!" I swung my bar with all my might, and landed a direct hit on Jackass's head. He went down immediately, and I was so distracted in my victory I missed the leader guy sneak up on me. "BAH!" I cried in a very un-cute way as we both went down.

He smirked as he punched my face. Hard. _OWOWOWOWOWOWOW!_ I shook my head and beat him with my bar. "Off, god damn it! OFF!" I screamed at him as if he were a dog. I skillfully rolled over and, now on top of him, beat him senseless with my bar of awesomeness. "Suck on this!" Standing up to deal with the others, I noticed everyone was down.

"Holy shit, we did it?" I mumbled, clueless, happily smiling as the crowd cheered us on. I turned to see Natsu and Gray, absolutely untouched. They looked at me with slight if any concern. "Eh? What happened to your face, Aspen? Some guy knock you a good one?" Natsu said, still grinning.

I deadpanned and jerked my thumb back. "Yeah, the leader. Stupid jerk, that hurt." I turned to said man with a smile. "Ha, and even though you got a hit, I still beat you! Ha ha ha ha-" I spun around arrogantly, being cut off as my hand slipped and I, once again, managed to whack myself in the face with the crowbar.

"SON OF A BITCH!" And so down I went. I landed face first with the stone road, and let me tell you, along with the punch and accidental whack, it did not feel nice.

Someone actually cared enough to help me up, and to my slight disappointment, it was only Lucy. What? Lucy is a nice girl, of course she would do that, it's not my fault I wanted someone _else_ to care for a change!

She cupped my face with worry. "A-are you okay?" I nodded and took my jacket from her, slipping it back on. "Yeah, just jolly. Do me a favor and get the boys, okay? Let's just get the eff out of here." I stood there in a daze.

"I can't believe you whacked yourself in the face again, Aspen!" A high voice chirped. I turned my head to a flying blue cat, who seemed to almost disappear.

"And just where the hell have you been?"

"With Lucy!"

"Urgh...Happy, can you fly me to the nearest restaurant?"

"Why?"

"So I can stuff my face, pass out of utter joy and lose all of my troubles..." I dreamily sighed. Before he could respond, the rest of Team Natsu showed.

A grinning Natsu looked right at me.

"There you are, Happy!" The little blue cat rammed into him. So much for looking at _me._ "You're such a good fighter, Natsu!"

"Thanks!"

"Let's just go already!" I yelled, running off to find a way out of here.

* * *

><p>Luckily for us, the rail roads had been fixed and the trains were working once again. Much to Natsu's dismay, that was our transportation home.<p>

"Ugh..." Natsu was a lovely shade of green as we sat in the little booth. I was still tired as hell after the various injuries I had won during this whole thing, so I was completely silent.

I had made Gray, Lucy, Natsu and Happy all squish together since I was laying my body out on one seat. If it weren't for that idiot's moaning and groaning, I would be asleep by now.

"Natshu, shutsh shup." I said into the seat, my eyes closed roughly. I could feel the hateful glare practically radiating from the sick dragon slayer. "You're not the one with motion sickness, you-" He then continued to gag and such, cutting himself off before he could say something that would most certainly piss me off.

"If only Erza was here, then we could knock him out." Gray said, inching towards Lucy and away from the idiot. I grunted in agreement. After a few minutes, I was lucky enough to fall into a not-so-blissful sleep, but nonetheless, it was sleep.

* * *

><p>Aspen had fallen asleep not too long ago, and now it was even more uncomfortable the before. She was lazily laying against the seat, half of her body falling off. Her mouth was wide open, a thunderous snore producing from it. Not to mention she kept talking.<p>

"The girl with the jewel!" She squawked. Lucy and Gray deadpanned, while Happy was trying to support the ever sick Natsu.

"Firefly, firefly!" She reached a small hand out to only grab air, and as quick as it went up, it came down.

"I defeat chu! Chu will never beat meh!" She wiggled in an almost sexual way. "Meh lose? NOOOO! Now the pool is no clean! Mirror of the great Queen!" Then, all together, she flopped off of the seat and onto the ground, remaining quiet.

"Um...is she okay?" Lucy asked, gazing down at the girl. Gray nervously chuckled. "Uh..I think so, but at least now we have extra room." The two took this as a great opportunity and sprung to the empty side, leaving Natsu dumping his innards out the window, Happy eating a fish he got from seemingly nowhere, and Aspen asleep on the floor.

"Ah, finally, _some _peace and quiet." Lucy said contently.

Until Aspen started up her lawn mower of a snore.

* * *

><p>"Hey, wake up. We're here." Two rough hands shook me rather violently. Where was I? I sat up to see shirtless Gray in my face. "Oh-okay." I stood up weakly, holding my face that still hurt all around.<p>

He took my hand and almost dragged me off the train, where I saw an impatient Lucy and a screaming for joy Natsu. Happy was dancing around him.

"Yes! We're off! I'm never getting on a train, you hear me!" He paraded around. I just sighed at each of them. "Let's just go." Natsu turned to me with a grin.

"You can't boss us around anymore, Aspen, the mission's over. Now you're just a plain old newbie again." I gave him a hurtfilled face.

_That was so mean! That ass! I swear, whenever I actually get some muscle, I'm gonna-_

"Come on, you two; let's just give the Master what he asked for." Gray pulled me and Natsu by the ears. "Hey, hey!" I squealed. Happy walked beside me. Uh-oh, where the hell is my mask?

"Aspen, you sure were saying nonsense on the train!" What? That was news to me. As I was pulled along, I tilted my head. "How so?"

He smiled. "You were saying things like you were gonna kick someone's butt, but then you lost and couldn't clean a pool!"

I really said that? Jesus, what kinda dream was I having? "What? Really? That's really weird..." I frowned. Maybe it **MEANT SOMETHING! **Like a sign from God about getting defeated in battle! And then failing at cleaning a pool...?

Before I could reply, Gray stopped towing me and Natsu. I flailed as he let us go, falling on my back. Natsu brushed himself off while complaining about his ear. "Thanks for helping, you lousy little-"

"Home!" Lucy screamed, silencing my to-be curse. We were in front of the guild once again. "Finally..." I mumbled, ignoring everyone's celebration and running inside. I ran straight to the office, getting out the pouch, and tossing it to the old man. "JUST TAKE IT! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE WENT THROUGH TO GET THAT THING!"

Without listening to him, I walked out the door, seriously ready to take a nap. That is, until I saw three people. A tall blonde with brown eyes. Freaking hot, might I add. Then another boy with black hair and brown eyes. Also freaking hot, as well. Then the last was an extremely gorgeous girl with black hair and blue eyes...her looks put shame to mine.

But the thing that surprised me the most was that I had never seen these people in my life.

We all met eyes and I broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Who the _hell_ are you three?"


	15. Shortest Chapter In The History OF Short

So, today has been quite busy. I am_ officially_ fourteen, and I've had to watch my little siblings for the past six hours. That's why I did not have a vast amount of time to write, which led to this tiny update. So sorry for it's shortness!

* * *

><p>I glared them down suspiciously. <em>Crap, has my appearance caused this world to change? Like, add new people to the guild and make other people disappear? OH GOD, WHAT IF I MADE ERZA CHANGE TOO?<em>

The boy widened his eyes. "Wait, Aspen?"_ HOW DOES HE KNOW MY NAME OH GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE I HAVE CAUSED DOOM TO THIS UNIVERSE HAVEN'T I?_

"Oh my-holy-what the-mother-BAHH!" I screamed in terror, backing up and tripping, falling onto my back. "Hey! It _is _Aspen!" The girl added.

Then, something sparked in my mind. _What if...is it possible that...these are people from the real world as well? Oh noodle frick, I think it's true!_

Launching myself up, I threw myself at the three could-be Earthlings and dragged them away from everyone else.

I hissed into their faces. "Are you guys from the real world too?" One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

They all nod.

I looked down and shook my head. "Ohhhhhkayyyyyyyyy well this is unexpected." I bit my lip and crossed my arms. "In that case, we need to talk about how things are gonna go down here."

* * *

><p>I'm ashamed to even post such a short thing. Greatest apologies, dear viewers! The next chapter shall make up for it, hopefully!<p> 


	16. A New Team Comes With New Adventures

Well...this was an unexpected turn of events. I put my hands on my hips and closed my eyes. "Alright, first, how do you know me?" I patiently waited for them to answer.

"You went to our school. I'm Lily Wain, Vice President of Eaglewood. This is Lin, President. And that is your neighbor, Camden." MY eyes popped open in surprise. I definitely knew the two Presidents, they were the hound dogs of the school. And Camden, I think I had definitely seen him a few times in the neighborhood, usually while making a dumbass out of myself.

"Oh YEAHHHH! I know you guys, totally!" I laughed. "Oh boy, who would've thought I would drag you guys here, too." Now that I looked at them all, they did look kinda familiar.

"So, um, how the hell did you guys end up here anyway?" They then told me of how Lin and Lily came searching for me(how sweet!), got sucked into some portal after Lin got mauled by a _very familiar _white orb thing, and how Camden pretty much molested after the orb turned into a sort-of woman.

"SO THE ORBS A WOMAN, IS SHE?" I screamed with anger. "Oh, I can assure you, next time I see her, shit is gonna go **down. **Imma bitch slap you till you drop dead, you hear me, orb-woman?"

Everyone sweat dropped at my crazy antics. "Just how long have you been here? You seem...pretty comfortable." I blinked, cocking my head. "Um...couple days ago, or somethin'. How long have _you _been here?"

"We just got here today..." Lin said, looking down. I put my hand on my chin in a thinking position. "I see, I see. This is all very mysterious. Like Scooby Doo."

Sighing, I leaned against the wall. "Well, here's the deal. We can't let anyone know that we are from another world, alright? I already lied, saying I have amnesia and can't remember anything. What did you guys say?"

Camden scratched his had as Lily coughed awkwardly and Lin bit his lip. "Well, we haven't really said anything besides the fact that we can pretty much control magic."

My jaw dropped. They _what?_ "G-guys! What the hell are we gonna do? None of us can do magic, and I'm already good, but who knows what will happen if they find out you lied!" Well shit.

"We're sorry! We were just in the heat of the moment, you know? We were so anxious to join, we didn't think...I'm so sorry! Forgive me!" I patted the black haired girl as she looked shamefully into my eyes. "It-it's all good. We're just gonna have to make sure they don't find out you guys don't control magic."

We all nodded. "Alright, looks like this conversation is done." I turned to walk away, but not before shouting over my shoulder. "One more thing...let's all keep an eye out for any others that may come from our world...'kay?"

And with that, we parted ways. I had things to think about.

* * *

><p>It really was like a dream. Too good to be true, you know? The situation I was in was kinda like one of those fanfictions. You know, the ones made by the young teenage authors who update every day because they have nothing else to do in their lonely, sad little lives. Yeah, that kinda fanfiction.<p>

I couldn't believe that others were brought into Fairy Tail. To be honest, I was a little jealous. This experience was supposed to be for me, dammit! ME!

"Ugh, I'm so selfish." I mumbled into my hands. I was sitting outside the guild, on the wall.

'Trust me, honey, selfishness is the least of your problems.' A voice piped. I freaked out, jumping and banging my head in the process.

"Ah! Since when did you get there!" I questioned my consciousness, er, whatever it was.

'Ever since you came to this world. Everyone in anime has an inner voice!'

"Like the little devil and angel on your shoulders?"

'Yes, something like that.'

"Alright, I'm gonna call you Epi."

'Epi? Why Epi?'

"Dunno. It fits."

'I suggest you stop talking aloud. You're getting strange looks.'

I looked up to find Lin, Lily and Camden staring at me with concern. I laughed nervously, standing up. "Uh...hi guys! What is it?"

They all shifted awkwardly. 'Way to make things uncomfortable, dumbass.' Epi chuckled. Lily held up a paper. "Well, since we're going to be staying at the dormitories, we're gonna need money for rent. So, we were wondering if you would like to join us on a mission!" She smiled at me.

I took the paper and narrowed my eyes.

_Sabotage my ex's party and be rewarded with 500 thousand jewel!_

Wow. Seemed pretty damn easy. "Sure! Why not! Looks like fun!" I smirked and handed it back.

"So when do we leave?"

Since I was still the servant of Fairy Tail, I had to ask Makarov for permission to head out. Of course he accepted, but not without giving me a very tight good-job hug. I didn't bother saying goodbye to the fire and ice boys, but I did bid farewell to Lucy and Mirajane.

"Don't miss me too much, guys." I sighed as no one hardly noticed our new group leaving.

Camden laughed and pat my shoulder in sympathy. Lin smiled at me. "So, are we an official team now, or what?"

I pondered on that. "Well, you guys are, I'm just temporary. But still, we have to give the team a name!" I lifted up a hand in encouragement.

"Hm...Team D-Mention?"

"No..."

"Team Manga?"

"No..."

"Uh, how about Team CALL?"

"I got it!" I yelled loudly, a grin on my face that very much resembled Natsu's.

"From this day forward, we will be officially renown as...TEAM BITCHIN'!"

And thus began the start of the beautiful, crazy, and somewhat twisted journey of Team Bitchin'.


	17. Party Crashers, Unite!

The reactions to my dubbing of our team were each unique. Camden laughed and totally agreed with me, stating how badass it was.

Lin, being Lin, simply smiled and muttered a quiet, "I guess that would work, sure.."

And Lily was nearly outraged, claiming that it was inappropriate and juvenile. I shrugged it off, and Team Bitchin' headed out for their first ever mission.

* * *

><p>"Hm...it should be somewhere around here." Lin mumbled to himself, looking at the address on the rectangular sheet. We were in some crazily dark alleyway in town, and I was latching on to all three of them in fear.<p>

"It better be, we're gonna get mugged before we even reach the place!" I whispered harshly.

"Do people even get mugged in a place like this?" Camden replied, I assumed he was talking about this world.

"Camden, _anything_ is possible here. NEVER DOUBT THE POWER OF FAIRY TA-ahhhhckkk!" I then gracefully tripped over air. "Fairy Tack?" Lily mirrored me, no one really caring I was on the floor. "Ugh...never mind."

Lin held out an arm, stopping everyone. "Here it is!" I looked up to see some kind of fancy pink building. It strongly reminded me of a Barbie Dream House.

"Oh god, how much you want to bet it's gonna be some bitchy jealous ex-girlfriend." I sighed. How typical. We walked up to the fuchsia stained door, and Lily knocked it with a delicate knuckle.

The door then mysteriously opened, revealing a headache-producing room covered in, you guessed it, pink.

"What the hell?" Lin asked, holding his head as his world began to fuzz. Lily glared at him for cursing and pulled us all in. "Come on."

I squeaked as I stumbled into the house. "This place is hurting my head~" I cooed sadly, holding said area.

"Well, excuse me for not having a home to your liking, Miss Whiny Pants." I whipped around at the elegant voice.

What I saw was _not _some bratty teenage girl.

A four foot tall little boy dressed in a black tuxedo frowned at me, his pink cat eyes glowing.

"Wow...I stand corrected."

I could hear muffled laughter behind me as the boy's eyes roamed my entire being. _Um, the helllllll...?_

He scoffed at me, obviously not pleased. "I see. Hair is shiny. Chest is quite expanded. Curvaceous figure. Lovely eyes." Oh! So maybe he was pleased!

"However," he began again. "Poor handling of weight, horrible posture, awkward aura, rags for clothing, no style _whatsoever_, revolting scars, skimpy muscles, curls are too curly, short, more-than-acceptable baby fat in the cheeks, and nail-against-a-chalkboard voice. Really, woman, how can people even bear to listen to you?" My jaw dropped, and I pulled my hand back to punch the crap out of Junior, here. Who was he to go off on me like that?

A hand caught my fist. "Aspen, no hitting the client. Or children." Lily spoke calmly. "B-but he-!" She shook her head, and she suddenly reminded me of Erza. Quite scary.

"So, I am assuming you are Kendall Hopkins?" She bent down to shake his hand.

The dwarf smiled politely, returning the shake. "Indeed, it is I. What a nice young lady you are, I can only assume you are from Fairy Tail, no? Only such a beauty could come from there, as demented as it can be." The three of us behind Lily glared at him with dark auras.

"You guys are acting as if you're old friends being reunited..." Lin hissed.

The blue eyed girl stood up, brushing off her clothing and rolling her eyes. "Oh, please." She then turned to Kendall. "So, Mr. Hopkins, you would like us to crash a party?"

"Oh, my, my, call me Kendall. And yes, it would be to my delight if you would do so." He brushed back his green hair and sighed. "My ex-girlfriend, Namazeira, dumped me on the playground several months ago." He wiped at his child eyes.

"It was an emotional event, it was. Scarred me for life, and shall forever remain a tragic memory in my mind. Oh, by the heavens, please make her pay! I loved that girl with my all my heart and entire soul, and she had the nerve to leave me for that no good Ferris-"

Camden interrupted him. "Um, excuse me for asking, but just how old are you?" You would think he was Shakespeare by the way he told his little love story.

The boy sniffled. "I have just turned eight, yes indeed. I gave up everything, you see, my family, my friends, my money! Now all that I have is my precious house of pink, for it is the only thing I love more than Namazeira. Pink. Ah, yes, the color of v-"

"OKAY, let's keep this PG, yes?" I blurted before he could say something our virgin ears would regret ever listening to.

He chuckled, walking forward. He handed us a note. "You are right. Here, this is the address of the party for Namazeira. It is her and her fiancée's anniversary party. Go there, and raise COMPLETE AND UTTER HELL. If you do that, then I will reward you as promised." The sadistic midget snickered, rubbing his hands together.

"Um, whatever you say, boss." I said, hurrying out the door before that creep could say anything more. As we ran far, far away from the house, I screamed, "THAT KID IS _SOOOOO_ A FUTURE RAPIST!"

"Remind me to get a restraining order." Camden shuddered.

Lin laughed slightly. "No kidding, what a creep..." Lily smirked.

"You know, he kinda reminded me of you as a kid."

"What? No way! You liar!" The raven haired duo got into each other's faces, both daring the other to say more.

"Sorry to ruin your little moment, but, uh, we're here." Camden said, taking the note out of his pocket. We stood in front of a large bleached mansion, and different lights were all glimmering from the inside.

"Woo! Time to crash a party, Team Bitchin'!" I smiled, quite determined that it would all go perfectly.

Of course, with us, nothing ever goes perfectly. In fact, things would get terribly out of hand. The result? One crying little girl, a very pissed off Magic Council, one highly amused team, and an entire forest destroyed.

All in a day's work for Team Bitchin'.


	18. Breakin' In Like a Boss

"Oh, Ferris, this is such an awesome party! How did you manage to pull it off?" A young girl with olive eyes asked innocently, her tiny arm draped around her significant other.

A twenty something man with unruly blonde hair chuckled. "It didn't take much, babe. I have connections, you know?" He winked charmingly, making all the females in the room swoon and fall to the ground from being so turned on.

The room they were in was highly decorated, resembling what you would find in a club. Lights flashed all around, there were whores shaking their goods on the dance floor, a bar with all the alcoholic beverages you could think of. A little disco ball shined above everyone. Drunk children scurried around the room in a daze, and there was even one child who had passed out in one of those stripper cages, a teddy bear in his hand.

But, then, to the devastation of everyone, four teenagers literally fell through the doorway. "Wha~? Who are you? How did you get in, the guards were-!" Ferris gasped, standing up with rage.

The girl who had been the one to fall through the door awkwardly stood up and smirked, hands on her hips. "Oh, don't worry, we took care of those fools, _no problem!_" Her fresh black eye did her no justice.

She shook her dark hair with a laugh, pointing forward. "Team Bitchin', commence Operation Bacon Strip, NOW!"

* * *

><p>Aspen's P.O.V.<p>

_Several moments earlier..._

"Well, it doesn't look like a anyone's guarding the place." Lin said, his brown eyes inspecting the area with cautiousness.

I nodded my head. "Then that makes this all the more easy! Let's get moving!" I ran out of the bushes were hiding in and marched up to a huge white door. "So, uh, should we knock, or what?" I asked.

"No, we're not knocking! Ugh, just let me do it!" Lily growled and kicked the knob, causing it to break. The door then slid open. "WHOA~ How did you do that, Lil?" I gasped. The black haired girl huffed. "Don't call me that, please." We all stepped in and looked around.

It was one hell of a creepy mansion, that was for sure. The room was completely empty and blanketed with white marble, except for a single red carpet that led towards a different hallway.

"I guess we're following that, then." Camden said, stepping onto the red cloth. "Am I the only one that thinks this is so damn creepy?"

The rest of us responded with a 'no'. Hesitantly, I led the way, and bit the inside of my cheek as we approached the turn. "Oh god, what if it's some sort of trap? I'd really rather not get killed after _just coming _to this world."

Lin crossed his arms in a thinking position. "She could be right, you know! This could all be some sort of set up!"

His best friend shook her head stubbornly. "Even if it is, we have a job to do! Now go check it out!" She pushed me roughly, causing me to stumble around the corner. I breathed out in relief once I saw it was only a door with a sign above reading 'VIP'.

I grinned and ran forward, calling over my shoulder, "It's okay guys! It's only a do-"

It was then, unknown to me, that several men jumped out of the ceiling, and one of them thought it would be funny to land.

On me.

He had my body pinned down, and I struggled to even speak with the weight on my. "N-NEVER MIND! I TAKE IT BACK, I T-TAKE IT BACK! RETREAT!"

My team must of either ignored me or just didn't hear me, because they came running to my aid. Suddenly, Lin jumped our way and kicked the man right in the face, causing him to fly off of me. I gaped at the boy as he helped me up. "The fuck? How did you do that?" He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "I took kick boxing back at home."

I swirled around to face the retards that jumped me.

….They were very big retards, and I'm not talking about mentally big. They were pretty typical looking, what with the tight black shirt, tight black pants, tight black belts. They also sported the awesome little black sunglasses and black headphone thing. There were exactly three of them, not including the one Lin had surprisingly knocked out.

"Eh...this is getting-" Camden muttered as the guards continued to glare at us as they had been for the last five minutes. I finished his sentence. "Awkward..."

We nodded in agreement. Deciding to break the silence, I walked towards the men.

"Listen, can we just-" I hissed Guard Three punched me square in the eye, luckily not the one that had previously been hit. "GAH! What the hell, man? Can we not talk things ou-" He kicked my foot, causing me to fall to the ground.

I looked at my team with dangerous eyes. "Alright, guys, kick their ass. Don't hold back." Standing up, I whipped out my good ol' bar of death. "HYAA! DIE, BITCH!"

I hit Guard Three right between the legs. "Direct hit!" I was full of pride as the man tumbled down in pain. "WOO! DOWN WITH ONE SHOT!" I teased the man. "I go all night, son! I GO ALL NIGHT!"

I turned around to see how my team was doing. Currently, Lin, Lily and Camden were all kicking a poor man that was already down, who was Guard Two. "Guys, there's still one more..." I sweat dropped. Guard One stood there menacingly, and the reaching for his back to grab...

"OH, GOOD GOD, IT'S A SWORD!" I squealed as the man reveal a long katana which we somehow failed to see.

The ever silent Guard Three raised the weapon as a threat. "I got this." Camden then whispered, secretly walking behind the not so observant guard. There, Camden actually grabbed the katana, and BAM! It disappeared!

Everyone's, except for Camden's, jaws dropped in surprise. "WAIT, HOW THE HELL? WHAT!" I screamed.

The blonde simply smirked and flexed his fingers. "I'm a magician. I can make anything disappear!" I immediately ran up to him in fascination. "No way! That's awesome!" I giggled, pulling the sunglasses off of the dumbstruck Guard One. "Again! Again!"

He grabbed them, and poof, they were gone. Everyone sighed as I continued to babble, and Lily that time to finish off the remaining guard. She stepped up to the man, hit his neck with a chop, and he subtly fell to the ground. "Now that that's out of the way..." She began, looking towards the door with music blaring from it. "Aspen! Camden! Get over here, we need to think up a plan!"

I wined at her tone and scurried over. "Plan? Why can't we just barge in and cause chaos?" I asked her. Lin answered me. "What if they guards in there as well? Who knows, maybe they even have mages!" I shuddered at the thought. If that was the case, we were screwed. Which was kind of funny, considering we were technically mages ourselves.

"Oh, I guess you're right...so, what should we do?"

* * *

><p>I furrowed my eyebrows at our little plan. Hopefully it would work. Looking up towards Lily, I added one last thing.<p>

"Wait, guys! We need a name for the mission!" I said. Everyone blinked at me. "What's with you and naming things..." I heard Camden mumble.

"Alright, fine. Make one up." Lily responded. "But quickly."

I put a finger on my chin and thought. Suddenly, a dandy little light bulb popped up above my head. "Ooooooh! I know! How about Operation Bacon Strip! OBS!"

My team sweat dropped as I began to drool at the thought of the delicious meat. "Why Bacon Strip?"

"Because, bacon is awesome and yummy. That's all there is to it!" I chirped happily. Lily groaned, pinching her nose. "Ugh, let's just go already."

I stepped towards the door, ready to be a rain cloud on a perfect day. No, more like some mass-murdering hurricane that ruins thousands of lives on a perfect day.

"Alright, one, two, thre-ah, SHIT!" I tripped over the body of an unconscious guard and fell towards the door, taking the rest of Team Bitchin' with me.

As we crashed through, I swore to god that I could hear Epi say, 'Way to make an entrance, dumbshit.'


	19. The Official Douchebag of Fairy Tail

"Wha~? Who are you? How did you get in, the guards were-!" That was the first thing I heard. I picked myself off the ground and laughed mockingly. "Oh, don't worry, we took care of those fools, _no problem!_"

I pointed a finger forward, confident in our divine plan. "Team Bitchin', commence Operation Bacon Strip, NOW!"

And so it began. We each went our separate ways as planned, heading for the subjects of our torture. The plan was to send Lily after Namazeira, Camden after the crowd, let Lin deal with the destruction of items and what not, and I would handle Ferris. We were going to make sure they would **never** forget this frightening day.

I looked around the room, spotting a scared little girl with several people next to her. One of them being a small boy._ Hm, he looks uptight and Ferris-y. That's gotta be him._

"Hey you! YOU'RE COMING WITH ME, YA HEAR?" I screamed at him, lifting him off the ground by his collar. He let out girly cry for help. "Ahhhh! Ferris, Namazeira, _someone_!" I blinked, looking at him again. _Wait, did he just say Ferris?_ I got my answer as Namazeira, I'm assuming it was, pulled on a man's pants. "OH, FERRIS, YOU HAVE TO GET THIS...THIS BEAST AWAY FROM JIMMY!"

I looked up at 'Ferris'. _Oh shit._

He had a pink collared shirt (that revealed some heavy muscle) and sunglasses, and his blonde hair was spiked upwards. His mouth was pulled back in a snarl. Oh, and he was tanned beyond normality.

Okay, one. What the fuck. This was Ferris? WHAT A FUCKING PEDO RAPER! And, two. SERIOUSLY? PINK SHIRT AND SUNGLASSES? WHAT A DOUCHEBAG!

I raised my eye brows in a slightly amused manner. "You're Ferris?" I literally threw the kid I was holding to the side. "Like, THE Ferris?"

The man nodded his orange'd head. I hissed in disgust, both of us not even noticing a black haired girl snatch Namazeira away from the scene.

"IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS DECENT, I WILL BEAT THE SHIT OUTTA YOU!" I let out a roar and charged him with my crowbar in hand.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, with Camden...<em>

"Um... uh... crap. Just how the hell am I supposed to do this.." Camden looked around at all the youngsters running about in a panic, most of them either stoned or drunk. "O-okay, you brats! That's it, no more Mr. Nice Guy!" Everyone stopped and looked at him with wonder. Under pressure, the blonde quickly grabbed a beer bottle and, whoooooooooosh! It disappeared!

The kid's made 'oooooooh's and 'aaahhh's, gathering in a little circle around the teen, all signs of chaos forgotten. Camden chuckled nervously. "So you guys like that, eh?" He grabbed more various items and they were all gone. The children giggled. "Well how about THIS!" He lunged for a whole table, and once he had his hands on it, it was nowhere to be found. This was going to be a long day...

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, with Lin...<em>

Lin sighed. So far, things weren't too bad. After all, there were no guards or mages or nothin', so their plan was going on without a hitch. Well, except the fact that the brown eyed boy had no idea what to do, much like Camden. _Well...Aspen told me to 'destroy everything in sight', so...here goes nothing, I guess.._

He fisted his palm with determination. "Alright!" He picked up a table and threw down, smashing the dance floor. Many different cracks grew through the previously colorful squares. But he wasn't done yet. The boy grabbed the handle of the fallen piece of wood and rammed it into every piece of technology there was. Finally, he smacked it into a giant stereo. It sparked and sizzled, and eventually set aflame. "Uh-oh..._ASPEN!_"

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile, with Lily...<em>

Lily watched as Aspen picked up a boy and randomly began to threaten him. She looked around viciously, intent on finishing the mission. She spotted a little girl with purple hair, literally screaming in shock of the situation. "OH, FERRIS, YOU HAVE TO GET THIS...THIS BEAST AWAY FROM JIMMY!"

As 'Ferris', an over-tanned male, had a glare-down with Aspen, Lily leaped onto the young Namazeira, placing a hand over her mouth to muffle the screams.

_God, this is just so wrong, kidnapping a child..._ Lily held the squirming brat still as they scurried into another room. Grabbing a rope from thin air, Lily began wrapping up poor Namazeira. "Sorry, miss, but this is my mission, and I shall not fail." Namazeira let out a breathy, "YOU BITCH! Kendall put you up to this, didn't he? I'LL KILL YOU AL-" She was cut off as Lily stuffed a dainty pink cloth into her mouth.

Lily sighed, casually hanging the girl from the ceiling as the rope was hanging from a metal hoop. "Now what?" She wondered aloud, plopping down criss cross apple sauce.

* * *

><p>I rushed in to hit Ferris and got him on the side of his head. He didn't even flinch. "Eh…lemme try that again…." I hit him on his leg. Nothing. "DUDE! Are you, like, made of steel? Jesus!"<p>

I hit him everywhere possible, even the groin area, but alas, the man remained still and silent. "URGH! THE HELL?" I backed up in retreat, wondering what the hell I was going to do. Ferris grinned like some hungry tiger going in on his pray, which was a tiny little monkey who was only trying to gather bananas for her family who already had enough problems as it was, but was unfortunately caught on her adventure, and now was going to suffer a very sad fate.

I was that monkey.

"I'm tough; your weak little hits will have no effect on me!" He held up a fist confidently. "Not to mention…." A pretty little circle formed beneath his gigantic feet.

"I'm a mage, too! No matter what guild you are from, you will never defeat me! HAHA!" My jaw dropped. _HOLY FUCK, HE'S A MAGE? WE ARE SOOOOOO SCREWED!_

"NOW! I WILL SHOW YOU THE FEARSOME AWESOMENESS OF MY WEATHER MAGIC!" I furrowed my eyebrows. Weather magic?

Suddenly, harsh pitters and patters began forming from above. "R-rain?" I mused. Ferris just stood there, laughing his tan ass off. I scoffed at him. "Well that's not _so_ bad. I mean, I can handle some rai-"

I was cut short at the roof above us was blown off, I assumed it was by wind. Looking at the now exposed sky, I saw that dark clouds were covering above, heavy pelts of rain dripped down and lighting danced in the sky.

"Um…" I mumbled, curious to just was he was trying to accomplish. Now all the guests were screaming even louder, and I'm pretty sure I heard Camden and Lin among them. "NOW, WEATHER, STRIKE DOWN YOUR POWER ON THE GIRL WHO DARED TO INTRUDE MY PARTY!"

I groaned, leaning my head back. _God, all this guy's yelling is giving me a fucking head-_

I wasn't able to finish my thought as a huge bolt of gold landed upon me, and my body felt millions of bolts run through it.

As my body cried out in pain, I couldn't help but get annoyed with someone's overly-obnoxious screams of bloody murder. Oh wait.

That was me screaming, wasn't it?


	20. Burn, Baby, Burn

I fell right after the brutal attack, my entire body charred to a delightful crisp. I couldn't even utter a word as my head hit the floor, I could only mentally curse in pain. Various zaps adventured throughout my body, and I could feel painful electric tingles. _Damn you, you guido wannabe._

This was going to be a lot harder than we thought, it seemed. I felt someone rush to come help me. Camden. "Shit, Aspen! Are you okay?"

_Oh yeah, I'm feeling just fine, what with just being hit by a lightning bolt._

He noticed his mistake quickly. "Oh, uh, that was probably a stupid question. Here, we gotta get you away from that guy." I could hear Ferris ranting God knows what. Surprisingly, Camden was able to pick me up bridle style and sneak out of the scene. He lay me down in some dark room and a medical kit magically appeared, but I didn't have the strength to ask how the fuck he managed to do it.

"All right, it looks like you didn't get hurt too bad, that good ol' crowbar too most of the beating, it seems." My eyes managed to widen. _What? Seriously? OH CROWBAR, I KNEW YOU WOULD ALWAYS BE THERE FOR ME!_

After cleaning off all the char and patching up most of the burns, I was once again able to move. "Thanks, Camden! You're a lifesaver!" I gave him a loving bear hug. He blushed and pushed me away, handing me my crowbar. "Y-yeah, no problem."

I gasped as I saw my weapon. Despite it taking the hit for me, it was in perfect shape. I grinned and turned on my heel, ready to have round two with Sir Douchealot. But an arm grabbed my elbow, restricting me from going anywhere. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You can't go back there, he'll kill you!" Camden scolded me. I chewed the inside of my cheek in annoyance. I knew he was right, but we couldn't just stand here! "But-but, Lin and Lily are still out there! They could be in danger!" He sighed, heading towards the door.

"I'll go after them and try to think of a plan. You are in no shape for fighting. Stay here, Aspen." And then he was gone. I cursed crudely in annoyance, leaning against a wall. _Fine, have it your way. But don't come crying to me when you all need my help._

* * *

><p>Camden watched carefully as Ferris instructed the children to search for the intruders and to take them to him. The blonde looked up at the area where a roof had previously been. It was still cloudy as hell, and thunder stomped throughout the sky. The rain was gone, though<p>

Thankfully, while Ferris was attacking Aspen, Camden had managed to catch Lin and sent him after Lily. But this place was surprisingly huge, so they could be anywhere. He zoomed his way past everyone and into a new hallway. Sniffing the air, he swore that he smelt….smoke. As he continued to walk, he definitely smelled smoke. Entering a new room, he was immediately surrounded by flames. Wait, hadn't this been the room Lin was assigned to?

_DAMMIT LIN, WHAT DID YOU DO?_

Coughing ashes, Camden broke through a door, only to find a tied up and hanging Namazeira and a seated Lily.

"Camden? What the hell happened?" Lily asked hesitantly, noticing the fire that was rapidly growing behind him. Namazeira screamed through her cloth.

"Well, to sum it all up, Ferris is actually a super powerful mage, he hit Aspen with his lightning bolt, Lin is I don't know but I think he started the fire, and yeah now we're pretty much screwed. "

She blinked and nodded her head. "I see…." She looked to the hanging blonde girl. "Well, I suggest that we-"

Suddenly, a black-faced Lin crashed through the wall. "LILY, I'VE COME HERE TO-oh." He gave a disappointed glance at Camden. "I see you've noticed the fire?"

Lily whacked Lin across the head violently. "YOU IDIOT! HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO START A FIRE? WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"

Lin backed away and hid behind Namazeira's floating body. "I'm sorry!" He squeaked. Then they all whipped their heads around at the fire, which had just entered the room. It was quickly approaching them. "Shit! We gotta go guys!" Camden grabbed his two teammates, but not before Lin unhooked and grabbed Namazeira. They ran out in a panic, unfortunately right into the faces of Ferris and his minions.

"AHA! I have found you, you vile creatures!" He gasped. "GAH! AND MY SWEET NAMAMAMA, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU? HE snatched the tied girl away protectively.

"Namamama? What the fuck…." Camden whispered with a raised brow. Ferris glared at them and reading up his powers. "NOW WEATHER," he began angrily. "STRIKE DOWN YOUR POWER ON-" He was cut short as he blubbered incoherent words.

"F-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f—_**FIRE! OH MY GAWD, OH MY GAWD, ITS FIREEEE~" **_He seemed to forget all about his girlfriend as he shrieked and began to sob. Literally. "MAKE TEH FIRE GOES AWAYS! MEHS NOES LIKES TEH FIRES!" Everyone sweatdropped as he got into a fetal position and rocked back and forth.

"Um….what should we do now?" Lin asked, quite puzzled with the situation. Before anyone could reply, a crowbar came flying into the room, and hit Ferris right in the head, knocking him out cold. Aspen strolled in casually.

"Well that was easy."

* * *

><p>Aspen P.O.V.<p>

I had been in that room for, like ten minutes and it was already boring as all hell. _What the hell are they doing out there?_

I hadn't heard any commotion whatsoever, and that meant that Ferris had not yet been beaten up. That was not good. I debated on going out there or not, but decided against it. I'd rather not get hit by a lightning bolt for the second time, thank you very much.

"AHA! I have found you, you vile creatures!" I heard. It was that raper faggot's voice for sure. I creaked open the door and peered out curiously, watching the scene unravel. Apparently, Camden, Lin and Lily had all managed to group up along with a captured Namazeira, but Ferris had caught them. He was about to attack them, but then he did something that rather shocked me.

I smelled a vast amount of smoke and knew that there had to be a fire. Ferris saw this fire, I assumed, and began to hyperventilate. "F-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f—_**FIRE! OH MY GAWD, OH MY GAWD, ITS FIREEEE~"**_

I watched amused as he tossed his bitch Namazeira away and rolled into a ball on the floor. I decided that now was the time to strike and grabbed my crowbar, aiming it directly as his head.

CLING.

_HEADSHOT, BITCH!_ I thought victoriously as I walked into view. "Well that was easy." I kicked the fallen Ferris to make sure he was down, and then grabbed my weapon.

"Good job Aspen." Lily congratulated me with a salute. I smiled. I glanced down a Namazeira, who was crying over her boyfriend's body.

"Oh, FERRIS! My love, how has this happened! How did they know your fear of fire! WHAT DID WE EVER DO TO DESERVE THIS!"

I laughed heartily. "Yep, I think we've done more than crash there party. We've scarred them for life." All they happiness was shattered, however, as the building began to shake.

"Uh oh, looks like the fire is about to take this place down." I muttered. Everyone cast me a look of horror. "We have to get outta here!" Camden said panicked.

"Oh, hush, all of you. I got this!" I ran over to the main entrance door and pulled on the handle.

It was jammed.

"Ah, shit." I whispered, and then everyone screamed as the fire consumed us all, and the entire building collapsed on itself.


	21. First Mission: Complete

I groaned as I crawled out from beneath the rubble, wincing as my body connected with burning hot pieces of wood and whatnot. From a while away I could hear the complaints of everyone else, so I'm _assuming _nobody died. Assuming.

"Yeah, Aspen, you _really _got this, all right." Camden shouted to me in annoyance. I barked back, "OH, SHUT UP!"

I looked around suspiciously. It seemed that the fire had mysteriously extinguished. "Well, that's a relief." I muttered, stretching my sore limbs. "OKAY, EVERYONE GET THE HELL OUT!" I commanded to the fallen children and my team.

They glared sharply at me but I ignored them, stepping out of the messy area myself.

"WAAAAHHH! MY HOUSE IS R-RUINED! IT'S-IT'S GONE! WAHHH!" Namazeira cried out as Lily carried her by the ankle. "Sorry, Namazeira, but crying isn't going to do anything." She said sternly, but sweetly. Then she angrily kicked Lin in the head. "See, look what you've done, idiot! You've made this little girl cry, how could you be so cruel?" He wailed in pain, backing away.

"How was I supposed to know that would happen?"

"You should have set it off in the first place!"

"With what?"

"ANYTHING!"

I stormed over and pulled the two apart. "Oh please, you guys, stop with the lover's quarrel."

"L-LOVERS?" They said simultaneously. I ignored them as I checked to make sure no child was stuck in the rubble. Then, I saw a pair of sunglasses sitting on a pile of wood. An orange figure next to them.

_Ah, god dammit._

"CAMDEN!" I suddenly shouted, making the boy jump. "Uh, yeah?"

"Go get the douchebag and bring him over here."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "W-what? Oh come on, why me?"

I stomped my foot impatiently. "Because I said so! Now move!" I gave his butt a kick for good measure. Grudgingly, Camden stepped over and around various things before he lifted up a still unconscious Ferris, whose pink shirt had been dirtied black.

After he came back to us, he dumped the pedophile on the dirt lazily. "Phew. Now that that's over with, now what?" He asked. I cocked my head thoughtfully.

"Um, I guess now all we have to do is-wait." I went silent as the ground began to rumble. Then, it just full out began to shake. Children collapsed to the ground, unable to keep balance. I reached for the nearest thing possible, which happened to be Lily's head. "OH MY GOD! EARTHQUAKE!" I clung to her raven-ed noggin for dear life.

Then, right before our eyes, the rubble that we had just been in burst into beautiful, fiery flames. We all backed up in surprise, awestruck as the fire spread like gossip, catching the trees behind the previously there house aflame. Before we knew it, the forest surrounding us was covered in red-orange bliss.

"Holy shit." I whispered into Lily's hair, which, by the way, smelled like pumpkin pie. She growled and threw me off of her.

"Uh-oh, looks like were completely trapped. This isn't good." Lin said quietly. We all just stared in horror at the fire that was nearing closer to us with every second.

I shook my head in distaste, tsking. "Geez, where's Natsu when you need him?"

* * *

><p><em>Back at Fairy Tail…<em>

Natsu set down his silver wear and blinked unsurely. Happy tweaked his head to the side.

"What's the matter, Natsu?"

The dragon slayer shook his pink head, shaking the odd feeling off. "It's nothing, it's just that…for some reason…I feel like someone really needs my help right now…"

"Really? Wow…."

Natsu debated on whether going to check things out, but the he glanced at all of the fresh, hot food sitting in front of him.

He grinned. "Eh, it was probably nothing! Let's eat!"

"Aye!"

* * *

><p>"Probably at the guild stuffing his face, lucky bastard…"<p>

Lily knocked me out of it. "Aspen, what are we gonna do! We're all gonna be burned to death if we don't get out of here!"

I observed the area. The entire forest was on fire, where were we supposed to go? _Well, looks like we're screwed…_

"Um, everyone gather close together! Hurry!" We all formed a giant circle, huddling together like penguins. "What are we doing?" I heard someone shout.

"J-just wait!" To be honest, I didn't even know. I was just trying to buy some time. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited to feel the heat. The flames neared closer and closer until…

My eyes popped open just as the fire was going to eat us. And in an instant, all the fire just disappeared, leaving burnt trees and ashes in its place.

Everyone gasped. "Whoa, Aspen, how did you do that!" Lin asked me curiously. My jaw dropped. They thought **I **did that? "Um, I didn't do anything…."

Everyone lost the fascinated glow. "Oh." They all stated bored-ly. Lily sighed. "Well, at least we're all alive."

"NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!" Namazeira moaned. I felt the urge to slap her across the face and stick her headfirst into a big pile of-

"Shit, Namazeira, shut up already." Camden rubbed at his temples. Her lip trembled. Then, she un-expectantly kicked Cam in the right in the no-no square.

"NOBODY UNDERSTANDS ME!" She then ran off, carrying Ferris away with her with some superhuman strength I wasn't aware of.

"Hehe, pwned." I snickered. Thus, Team Bitchin' happily watched all the children run home in fear, sure to never forget this treacherous day. Overall, we were pretty damn amused with the results of the mission, to say the least.

* * *

><p>"Tch, damn fools. If it weren't for me, they would have gotten burnt to a toast." A mysterious figure muttered from above, having just recently put out the fire.<p>

He ran a hand through his purple hair. "I can't believe Jamnis is actually _interested_ in these pitiful weaklings. They can't even do magic!" He scoffed.

"Ah, well. In the end, it will be his problem, not mine."

And so the man flew off, disappearing into the sky.

* * *

><p>We returned to Kendall's house of pink, informing him of how things went. He began to cry with joy, literally, and paid us the lovely amount of 500 thousand jewel. Awesome. Saying goodbye, we all began our walk back to the guild.<p>

"Wow! 500 thousand jewel! Cool!" I purred at the bag of money.

Lily did the math in her head. "Hmm. If I'm correct, then we each of us will have 125 thousand jewel each!" My eyes went wide. Wow, that was a lot!

"What are you guys gonna spend it on?"

Lily crossed her arms. "Well, I was going to use it for rent on the dorm. It's not like I have anywhere else to live. I suggest that you do the same, Aspen." I nodded my head dumbly.

"Uh, sure." I had completely forgotten about Fairy Hills! _That meant this whole time I could have been sleeping in a warm bed instead of on the floor…GOD DAMMIT!_

"I guessed me and Camden will spend it on the guys dorm. Good idea, Lily!" Lin said happily. Then he looked at me. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Huh? What is it?"

He bit his lip shyly. "Well, it seemed like you were having a lot of fun back there, so….will you stay with us? As a team, I mean?" I then remembered my words.

_"So, are we an official team now, or what?"_

_I pondered on that. "Well, you guys are, I'm just temporary."_

"Uh…" I couldn't think of any reasons not to be. I mean, Team Bitchin' was awesome!

I smiled honestly. "Yeah, okay, why not?"

"HOORAY!" I was then glomped by everyone, who were apparently happy to have me. Camden chuckled as they got off of me.

"Good, because Team Bitchin' just isn't the same without you." He winked flirtatiously at me, which I tried to ignore.

"Thanks, guys. We're gonna be the best team in Fairy Tail, no doubt!"

And then, were we home.


	22. Forsythia

I hope I wrote Forsythia to your liking, purplechalkwitch!

* * *

><p>As usual, our sudden entrance made a majority of the guild go quiet.<p>

"GOD DAMN, am I glad that's over with!" I sighed, stepping into the miraculously air conditioned room. Some people stopped what they were doing and stared at me.

"…..What?"

"You…you guys actually did it?" I saw Gray blink in astonishment. I put my hands on my hips and gave him an offended glare.

"Well, yeah! Of course we did!"

I dully noted that several jaws dropped.

"Wow, I never thought it was possible for _Aspen_ to get a job done!" Natsu gaped at me.

"I am perfectly capable of getting jobs done, thank you very much!" I clenched my jaw.

"Do these guys really think that less of you?" I saw Camden roll his eyes. I flipped my hair in a bitchy way, walking past the awestuck members.

"Apparently so. Those jerks!" I stormed into Makarov's office and shut the door.

"Ah, so you failed the mission?" He stared at me and twirled his mustache.

I got the overwhelming urge to flip a table.

"I DIDN'T FAIL THE FUCKING MISSION, ALRIGHT?" He put his hands up innocently.

"Okay, then what is it you want? Oh, I know! I have a new errand for you to-"

"I'm joining a team, so I'm no longer your servant." It was awkwardly silent as Master geared together my words in his head. Then, he got it.

"WHAT? You can't' do that, you're not even a mage! How will you fight?"

"I can manage. Oh, and I also have a lot of jewel now, so I won't be sleeping here anymore. I'm gonna go live at Fairy Hills." I gave him a professional look and crossed my arms.

I smiled to myself and walked out, leaving the confused old man behind. Clapping my hands together, I did a happy victory dance.

"Oh yeah, I'm in a team now! Oh yeah, Master can suck it! Oh yeah, oh yeah!" I sweatdropped as my team shook their heads shamefully.

"Aspen, we're gonna need to work on your social behavior." Lily wrote in a little notepad.

"Y-yes, and we are definitely going to need to buff you up a bit. I-if you don't mind." Lin nodded, grabbing his own. Even Camden joined in.

"Not to mention that outfit, I mean no offense, but how skanky-"

"Alright, I get it! I'm not perfect, so what!" Grabbing onto Lily, I headed towards the door.

"C'mon, Lily, we should go get settled in at the dorm." But then, I ran into a hard, armored wall of steel with long scarlet hair. Oh shi-

"Hm? And who is this?" The voice towered over me as I squeaked and jumped into Lily's arms.

"SAVE ME, LILY!"

"Why are you always jumping onto me, dammit?" She hissed out. I saw Erza raise a suspicious eyebrow, but then smiled warmly.

"I see, you must be new here. I'm Erza Scarlet." She offered me a metal hand, which I hesitantly shook.

"Oi, Forsythia, come say hello to the new girls while I go see the Master!" I raised my eyebrows at the new name.

As Erza scurried away (thank God), then walked in a gorgeous and mature looking girl. She had shoulder length blue hair which was kept neatly in a ponytail, although her bangs were choppy and reached her nose that almost covered her brown eyes. I also noticed four piercings on her right ear. Her skin was not pale, but not tan, either. She had various scars aligning her body, as well. She was wearing a black stretchy halter top and black spandex shorts, although a wrap skirt covered it. She topped it off with brown flats. I noted the lime green guild mark on her left cheek.

The girl's face lit up and she smiled warmly at me. "A-a new member?" She then walked up and shook my and Lily's hands.

"It's, uh, nice to meet you both! I'm Forsythia Audet!"

I furrowed my eyebrows. Yeah, I definitely had _never _heard of this chick before.

"Sorry, I'm Lily Wain, and this is Aspen Kosub." Lily nudged me for not replying and answered for me. I waved a hand, trying to be nice. Forsythia looked confused, but all the more kind.

"So, what kind of mages are you both?" We both widened our eyes at the question. _Shit…we really need to think up an alibi for this._

"Err….oh, I think that Lin and Camden are calling me! See you later!" Lily then completely ditched me and ran for the hills. _That little bitch!_ I seethed silently and bit my lip.

"Hehe, well you see, I'm not really a mage…it's kind of a long story."

"Oh, well I'm not really busy so….." She batted her brown eyes curiously at me and blushed.

Sighing, I gave in and told her of how I crash landed into Fairy Tail and lost my memories. Forsythia stared at me with an unreadable face.

"Interesting…" She murmured, looking as if she were trying to solve a puzzle.

_Hm...yeah, okay, this girl is seriously suspicious. I wonder….if maybe….she could be from my world?_

"Hm...yeah, okay, this girl is seriously suspicious. I wonder….if maybe….she could be from my world?" She gasped as the words escaped my lips, and I began to flip a bitch. _MOTHER FUCKER! DID I REALLY JUST SAY THAT ALOUD? GODDAMMITIMSOSCREWED!_

"Y-you're from the 'that' world, aren't you! I knew it!" She told me excitedly. By now, my face was pricelessly shocked. _How does she…why does she…how in the…..what could be….GAHH!_

Panicking, I rammed her in the nearest corner and began blubbering nonsense.

"Okay, first of all, SHHHHHHHHH! Understand?"

Translation: You can't say that aloud because no one knows that I'm from that world and if they do find out that would not be good.

Seeming to understand, she nodded her head.

"Second of all, HOW?"

Translation: How did you find out about the real world, anyway?

She somehow managed to get the message and squeaked out, "O-oh, um, well, you see…. years ago my aunt was murdered by a mysterious man from 'that' world, and my mother left there to go seek him out and get revenge. Have you happened to see a woman with blue hair running around there?" Forsythia shook my shoulders, but realizing her actions she bashfully apologized.

"Um….I don't think I've seen her around, sorry, Forsythia." I felt guilty as her beautiful face fell in disappointment.

"But, in any case, you-you have to promise not to tell ANYONE that I'm from the real world! Okay?" After staring at me for some time, we shook on the agreement.

"Alright, Aspen, I-I will do my best to keep your secret!" She saluted to me faithfully. I mentally sighed with relief. _Thank God….things could've gotten messy there….but that still doesn't explain where the hell this girl came from….oh well, we will figure it out._

"So, have you two situated everything?" Lily came casually strolling back to us. I nodded, rubbing my temples.

"Yeah, I guess. I'll explain everything later, Lily. Right now, let's…let's just go to the dorm, yeah? It's been a long day."

"Oh, Forsythia, you're back from the mission with Erza!" The ever big-busted Lucy smiled cheekily at the blue haired woman after bursting in. Forsythia blushed at her presence.

"O-oh! Lucy! Um, yes, I'm back!" She stuttered. I raised an eyebrow at the two.

"Aspen, did I hear you mention you were going to the dorms?" I nodded.

"Oh, well then why doesn't Forsythia help you and Lily get settled in? I'm sure she wouldn't mind, would you?"

Forsythia shook her head anxiously.

"Great! Now you two go ahead, I have something to discuss with Aspen." Lily and Forsythia happily trotted away while Lucy pulled me back with roughness.

"Err….what is it, Lucy?" I asked her curiously.

"I'm assuming you want to know what's up with Forsythia, you look pretty confused." She looked at me with a serious gaze.

Yeah, I wasn't even going to get into how the hell Lucy knew that.

"…yeah, pretty much."

The blonde nodded her head affirmatively.

"Yes, yes, that's what I thought." She pulled me over to a table and we sat across from each other.

"Well, the rumor is, Forsythia's real name was actually Begonia, meaning beware. It's said that her father, in fact, raped her mother, therefore leading to her name. I guess her mom was worried she would turn out like her dad."

My jaw dropped. Say **whatttttttttt?**

"But when she was eight, her mother finally realized what a sweet girl her daughter was and changed her name to Forsythia, which means good nature and innocence. I guess that a while ago, her dad killed her aunt and her mother left to go get revenge. Ever since then, Forsythia has lived here with at Fairy Tail and no one has ever told her about the rape or her name…or, so they say."

"And why do you know so much about Ms. Audet? You seem _pretty interested _in her life." I smirked.

"H-huh? It was just the big gossip around Magnolia, and I-I happened to hear it! I swear!" Lucy blushed and bit her lip. I sighed.

"Uh-huh. Well, thanks for the insight, Lucy, it really helped me figure out some shit. Anyway, I should probably get going to the dorms. See ya!" And I sprinted out the door, trying to catch up to my new friends.

_Hm…if I got this right, I'm assuming that Forsythia's father, a man from our world, raped her mom and then killed her aunt, and now her mom is somewhere in the real world searching for him. I guess that explains where she comes from._

I couldn't help but smile when I reached them.

"Hey, what were you guys talking about?" Lily asked me. I gave her a look that said, 'I'll tell you later'.

"Oh, you know, just some good ol' Fairy Tail gossip, that's all." Turning to Forsythia, I cocked my head.

"We still good on our deal?"

"Y-yes! My lips are sealed!" She smiled lightly.

And together, we three girls linked arms.

_It seems like every day I'm finding more and more friends from my world….what in the hell could be the cause of it all?_

But, either way, I had an awesome team, was in an awesome guild, and I was, for once in my life, happy.


	23. Makeovers!

"…the hell is this?" I groaned loudly. After explaining to Lily the situation with Forsythia, we parted ways and went to gather our new rooms. Unfortunately, my new home was a lovely, lovely color of puke orange. Perfect.

"I guess you're stuck here, Aspen, because this is the only room left. Lily took the other one." Forsythia explained to me. I silently cursed out that black haired beauty. "Well, perfect, how the hell will I ever be able to sleep in here?"

"You could just paint over it…."

"NO! I refuse to paint over my room, do you have any idea how long and painful that would be?" And considering I couldn't even patch up a tiny hole in the roof, well…..

"But look on the bright side! The wallpaper smells like oranges!" Forsythia sighed.

"I FRICKING HATE ORANGES!" I pouted, slinking to the floor in a depressing manner.

_Hm, I wonder how Lin and Camden are doing?_

* * *

><p>"EHHHH? You can't be serious!" Camden screamed.<p>

"Well, why not? I mean, you don't really have a choice…." Lin chuckled lightly. The blonde shook his head and crossed his arms.

"No, Lin. I refuse to share a room with you. What will the other guys think? I don't want them getting any ideas! Because I don't know about you, but I don't swing that way."

"W-wha? Neither do I!" Lin blushed, making a disgusted face.

"You heard what the others said, this is the only room left, and it just happens to be for two." He leaned on the wall.

"So then why can't I have it?"

"B-but I got here first!"

"…..Ugh, fine. But I'm making a barrier, you hear?" He put a pillow right in the middle of the room, separating the sides of the room containing beds. "No crossing this pillow!"

Eventually night fell, and both girl and boy dorms were tranquilly quiet with slumber.

…Well, besides the fact that Aspen's snoring kept half of the dorm residents wide awake.

* * *

><p>I blinked harshly, rubbing my eyes as someone pounded onto my door.<p>

"ASPEN! WAKE UP, FOR GOD'S SAKE! IT'S ALREADY ONE O'CLOCK!" I recognized it as Lily's voice.

"W-well, hey, you shouldn't rush her. It's unhealthy! Let her sleep until she's well rested!" Ah, Forsythia.

"Forsythia, she has been sleeping for seventeen hours. She went to bed at eight!"

"Oh, wow. That's…a lot of sleeping."

Knowing they weren't going to leave, I slumped over to the door and unlocked it, swinging it open.

"Is there something you ladies need, or are you just trying to piss me off?" I yelped unexpectedly as Lily grabbed me by my pajama collar and dragged me into the halls.

"OI! Lily, what are you doing?" Forsythia asked curiously. I gave her a look that screamed 'ARE YOU GOING TO HELP ME OR WHAT?' She didn't seem to get it.

"We're going to get Aspen ready. We can't take her to the guild looking like…..this." She motioned to how my hair had a freighting-ly similar resemblance to a birds nest.

"I see…." The bluenette made an 'o' with her mouth.

"Can I help?" Her lips formed into a devious smile. Lily nodded her head.

"Yay! I've never given a makeover before!" The two of them smiled wickedly and I widened my eyes with horror.

"NO! SOMEBODY, ANYBODY! HELP MEHH!"

But alas, all the dorm members were at the guild. I was doomed.

* * *

><p>"Hold still, Aspen!"<p>

"I'm trying!"

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT WIPING OFF THAT LIPGLOSS!"

"Yeah, wasn't planning on it!"

"Gah! WHY WON'T YOU CURL, DAMMIT?"

"STOP BULLYING MY EYELASHES!"

"Just a little more foundation….!"

"I feel…like there is cake on my face."

"Urgh! Stupid dress, why won't you fit!"

"JUST WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU IMPLYING?"

"And….DONE!" The two girls said, synchronized. They backed up to observe their handy work. I puffed out my cheeks and looked down. Stupid girls, what did they think I was, some kinda doll!

"Oh, Aspen, you look adorable!" Forsythia said, stars in her eyes.

"Yes, she does look rather nice, doesn't she? Hm, but that dress is a bit snug on her…. "

"Oh, yes, yes, I agree. Aspen, have you ever thought of going on a diet?"

"I hate you all." I spit out as I saw myself in the mirror. My hair was as it normally was, and it spilled down my back in random waves and curls. The only difference was that my bangs were pulled out of my face by a white headband and two little curled pieces hung around my face.

I was stuck in some short white dress with a green bow at the belly, which was tied so tight I'm pretty sure it was cutting off circulation. I had two white sandals wrapped around my feet and up my ankles.

My face was just covered in makeup, foundation, eye shadow, blush, and god knows what else. My eyes had a horribly noticeable pink eye shadow covering them and my lips were glossed in blood red. My face looked like Mr. Douchebag's, as pathetic as that is. I frowned distastefully.

"So, what do you think?" Forsythia asked. I deadpanned.

"I hate it."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I did badly on the makeup, didn't I? I-I-I'm sorry!" Her eyes watered slightly and she looked down.

"Aspen, apologize! We worked hard on making you beautiful; you can't just go and insult us!" Lily glared at me. My jaw dropped. Were they being serious?

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry, but can you just remove some of the makeup? My head feels uncomfortably heavy."

"Sure! This time, I will be sure to perfect your face!" Happy once more, Forsythia nodded, determined. Lily grabbed the materials and got into game-mode.

"Alright," she spoke, deadly serious. "Let's do it."

* * *

><p>It was the afternoon, and although Aspen's team had already come by the guild, Aspen herself had not been seen.<p>

Lin and Camden sat at the bar, wondering where the girls were.

"Geez, Lily and Forsythia left a while ago….what do you think is taking them so long?"

"Dunno. Surely it can't be _that_ hard to wake Aspen up?" Camden shrugged.

Then, a few male guild members walked by and chuckled. Camden glowered at them and bared teeth while Lin sweatdropped and tried to calm his friend down.

Just as Camden had predicted, men in the dorms were starting to get some inappropriate ideas ever since the two newbies started sleeping in the same room. Lin didn't seem to mind and mostly ignored it, but it was taking a real hit at Camden's ego.

"Damn idiots! I can't believe this! Now we're known as the two queers of Fairy Tail!" The blonde roared, his brown eyes dancing with anger.

"I knew this would happen!"

"Oh, it's fine, it's only a rumor. It'll blow off soon enough." Lin pat his shoulder.

Just then, they heard someone kick open the door to the guild.

"ALRIGHT, GOD DAMMIT! I'M TIRED, I'M PISSED OFF, AND MOST OF ALL, I'M HUNGRY SO SOMEONE BETTER MAKE MEH SOME FREAKIN' FOOD!"

Mirajane smiled happily. "Ah, hello, Aspen!"

* * *

><p>I huffed after screaming my lungs out.<p>

"Ah, hello, Aspen!" Mirajane told me sweetly. "What would you like?"

I marched my way over to the bar, right between Lin and Camden. Forsythia and Lily followed me.

"I want…some bacon." I grumbled, my chin resting on my hand.

"Wow, Aspen. You actually look…..really nice. What the hell happened?" Camden raised an eyebrow at me.

I turned to him and pointed two fingers at Forsythia and Lily, who smiled sweetly.

"Doesn't she look great? Forsythia and I did it ourselves." They nodded their heads proudly.

"It's a…little strange, seeing you all girly like this." Lin squinted, looking at my face. I snorted and turned away, happily taking the bacon Mirajane set out for me. Ah, crispy, just the way I like it.

"Hey, maybe you should go show off in front of Natsu, Aspen!" Forsythia giggled quietly with her hands over her mouth. My eyes widened. _What? How did she…._

I hissed at Lily evilly with accusation. She shrugged and began chattering with Lin and Camden.

"Oh! Speak of the devil, look who it is!" Knowing what the bluenette meant, I buried my face into my dress but Forsythia grabbed my elbow and pulled me up, so I was standing in front of Team Natsu. _Oh no._

"Natsu! Just the person we were looking for! What do you think of Aspen's new look?"

To my phenomenal horror, not only Natsu's, but Lucy's, Happy's, Gray's, and Erza's eyes scanned over my entire form. I bit my lip in embarrassment, just about ready to kill my newest friend.

It was pretty silent, until Natsu and Happy started laughing there asses off, Lucy and Erza started fawning, and Gray raised an interested eyebrow.

"BAHAHA! OH MY GOSH, WHAT H-HAPPENED TO YOU? HAHA!"

"HAHA! ASPEN LOOKS LIKE A DOLL!"

"Awww! You look so adorable!"

"Yes, she is rather cute. Perhaps I should dress more like that…"

"What's with the getup?"

I winced as I heard Natsu's words and forced myself not to cry. _Ignore him, Aspen...just ignore him..._

I turned to the girls and said, "Thanks, guys." I looked at Gray and told him, "It was all her." I nudged Forsythia, who was still next to me, watching the scene.

And finally, I put on a brave face and turned to Natsu, kicking him in the side as he was on the floor.

"You…. you are a jerk." It came out more emotional and choked then I would have prefered, but I shrugged it off.

"Now, I am going to take a power nap in the corner and try, emphasize the try, to gain back some of the self-esteem that has just been stomped all over. Thank you, and have a nice day." I turned on my heel and, as I said, curled up in a ball in a corner of the guild, and started to sleep, all previous emotions drifting away.

* * *

><p>Team Natsu just happened to be strolling the guild, until they bumped into none other than Forsythia Audet and Aspen Kosub.<p>

"Natsu! Just the person we were looking for! What do you think of Aspen's new look?" Forsythia said happily. Everyone turned to look at Aspen and were surprised at what they saw.

She had a white, short, flowy, and over all girly sundress on that made her look like a big, huggable teddy bear. Her bangs were pulled back by a white headband that had a big white bow attached to it. Her face was neatly done with makeup, which was a mixture of brown and green and many other varieties of colors. Her lips were glossed with pink.

It took everyone a minute to take in what they saw before Natsu and Happy Burst out laughing, Lucy and Erza began 'oohing' and 'ahing', and Gray cocked his head mildly. Their replies went accordingly:

"BAHAHA! OH MY GOSH, WHAT H-HAPPENED TO YOU? HAHA!"

"HAHA! ASPEN LOOKS LIKE A DOLL!"

"Awww! You look so adorable!"

"Yes, she is rather cute. Perhaps I should dress more like that…"

"What's with the getup?"

Aspen, surprisingly, didn't get mad or burst out in anger- instead, she flinched. Taking a breath, she then twirled, facing Erza and Lucy.

"Thanks guys." She smiled. Then she looked at Gray and touched Forsythia.

"It was her." She said accusingly. Forsythia blushed.

Then, Aspen scurried over to Natsu and kicked him lightly.

"You…you are a jerk." She bit out at him, her face shadowed for only the slightest second.

"Now, I am going to take a power nap in the corner and try, emphasize the try, to gain back some of the self-esteem that has just been stomped all over. Thank you, and have a nice day." True to her word, the girl crawled to the corner of the room and went into the fetal position, burying her head into her legs and falling asleep.

"Um…did we say something?" Natsu asked.

"You did, you jerk! You really hurt her feelings!" Lucy hit him across the head.

"Natsu, you idiot. Hopeless." Forsythia face palmed, walking back over to her friends by the bar, whom, to their amusement, saw the whole thing.

"Yeah, great going, squinty eyes." Gray sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Natsu, I believe this will require punishment…" Erza said darkly.

"I'm sorry! It was just so funny, I couldn't help it!" Natsu squeaked and hit behind Lucy

"Aye! How did you not laugh, Erza?" Happy backed his friend up, but retreated as the girls glared at him.

"Natsu….." Lucy and Erza said synchronized. Right as they were going to strike, the Master's voice rang through the guild.

"ASPEN!"

He appeared through the doorway, muttering under his breath, "That brat! I swear she's turning into Natsu…." He looked at Natsu and ran over.

"Natsu!" The short mage said.

"Where is Aspen?" He held a paper in his hand.

"Over there sleeping…"

Makarov hesitantly walked over to where she was, remembering the last time he tried to wake her up.

"Aspen! Get up, you darn girl!"

Aspen didn't budge, but Lucy knew just what to do.

"I know!" She got some bacon from Mira and slowly waved it over the girl's body.

"Aspen, its bacon! Bacon!" The brunette shifted, and then lazily lifted her head up, yawning.

"Eh? Bacon?"

* * *

><p>I smelled bacon.<p>

"Aspen, its bacon! Bacon!" I squirmed, raising my head and peeking out through my eyes, only to see Lucy, the old man, and some bacon in my face.

I yawned, too much in a daze to be mad about someone interrupting my nap (although it only lasted a minute...).

"Eh? Bacon?" Slowly, I reached for the meat and put it in my mouth, chewing at the speed of molasses.

"Aspen, you little….just what exactly did you do on your mission yesterday?" Makarov asked me as I watched Lucy walk away, returning to her friends.

"Uhm~…...dunno." I cocked my head. Everyone face-faulted. Yeah, this is how I always got when I woke up from a nap.

"Alright…..but somehow, and God only knows how you managed it, you burnt down an **entire forest.** Not to mention that the famous mage Ferris's household was completely demolished! The magic council is pissed! I just got a very angry letter complaining all of this, and now I have to pay a huge fine! What do you have to say for yourself?" Makarov rubbed his face.

I blinked, having come to my senses. _Oh yeah…..we _did_ do all of that stuff, didn't we? ...HAHAHA!_

I looked at my team. Camden was laughing his ass off reminiscently, Lily was face palming and shaking her head (despite a smile being hidden underneath), and Lin had a goofy grin on his face. Forsythia looked at me with a questioning expression, probably thinking 'Just who the fuck did I become friends with?'

"Well, what can I say? That's just Team Bitchin's style, you know?" Laughing nervously, I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head.

Getting up, I stretched my body. Makarov's mouth went agape, not quite knowing what to say.

"Thanks to you, I'm now wide awake, so I think I'll go take a walk. 'Kay?"

"Oh, can I come?" I heard Forsythia.

"Sure!" Smiling I nodded.

Ignoring Makarov's stuttered, I casually strolled out of the guild with Forsythia not too far behind.


	24. Felicity

Felicity turned out _much_ more different them my sister and I first anticipated. But, I am really liking her character...quite fun to write!

* * *

><p>~Sometime on Earth~<p>

"Felice! Your home!" A chubby old man cried in happiness as he crammed this 'Felice' person into a great big hug.

"I missed you!"

"Shanks shad." 'Felice' mumbled into the man's shirt. Her straight dirty blonde-brown hair and dyed-pink bangs hid her face from view.

This 'Felice' was actually Felicity Miner, an average 16 year old. She lives in an average sized town known as Renton* and attended the average highschool called Eaglewood High. This was her average father, Jeff Miner. And currently, they were in their average apartment home.

As you can see, Felicity had quite the exciting life!

"Um, cansh shu les me sgo?" She said dully.

Oh, right, I'm sorry, sweetie," Jeff released her and rubbed his head bashfully. "So, tell me, how was your day today?" Felicity sniffled and rubbed at her wet eyes.

"It-it was horrible. Kevin…h-he dumped me again!" She bawled out completely.

"Oh, I'm sorry honey. Don't worry, there's plenty of fish out there-" Her father sweat dropped, not quite knowing what to do.

"MEH LIFE IS OVAAAAAA!" Felicity sprinted to her room and slammed the door, causing her father to sigh.

"That girl really needs to get a hobby."

The young teen face planted onto her bed miserably, kicking off her uggs in the process.

"Why, Kevin, WHY? We were so perfect together, like hard boiled eggs and salt! WHYYYY?" Deciding that she needed some fresh air, Felicity slumped over to the window. Grabbing a large orange sack and a pickle that was for some reason just lying in her room, she opened it slyly.

Felicity climbed through it and hopped onto the rough dirt below. She sprinted towards the forest in front of her, clinging to the bag like it was a teddy bear.

Once she spotted a nice reserved patch of grass, Felicity tore open the bag and ripped out a soft quilt.

She placed it on the grass and plopped down, manga book in her left hand and pickle in her right.

It had always been a tradition to read manga and eat a pickle after she got dumped.(And I assure you, it was an echoing occurrence) She didn't know why, but doing so always made her feel completely better. That, and manga 'n pickles were a fucking awesome combination. Kevin was now the last thing on her mind as she raced through the pages.

Felicity was sitting on a grassy cliff that was at the near edge of the forest she ventured to, and it was the perfect place to. What, with the clouds and the sun staring down at her, the soothing trickle of the river nearby, and the beautiful nature around her, it was awesome.

Her dark, murky hazel eyes almost glowed as she thought about her life.

It was painfully boring, that was sure. Felicity was an average student overall, but excelled in science. She had a new boyfriend every other week, although she wasn't quite sure why. It wasn't as if she needed one. Granted, she was most certainly interested in the guys she dated, but no one seemed to sweep her off of her feet. All of her other friends claimed to be in 'love', stating that their boyfriends were the guys of their dreams, never failing to surprise them. Why didn't Felicity have such experiences?

Maybe it was just because she was too normal. After all, the only exciting thing that has ever happened in her life was when her parents divorced years ago, and that wasn't even the good kind of exciting! And she's never had a 'childhood BFF' like people do in movies and books because she's always moving to different placed. In fact, if anything, Felicity has more animal friends then human friends.

Speaking of which, Felicity gasped but then smiled as she spotted her little fox friend approach her, whom she dubbed 'Totter'. Most people would gape at the fact a young fox openly greeted a human, but for Felice it was an everyday event. She was just too oblivious to realize how _abnormal_ such a thing was.

"Hello, little Totter! How are you doing today? Aww, that's good! Care for some pickle?" She bit off a piece and handed it to the fox, who gratefully deposited it in his mouth.

"Ah, today sure is a lovely day, isn't it? Almost as lovely as….." Tears began to swell.

"KEVIN! OH MEH GAWD, WHY KEVIN, WHY?" She sobbed into the quilt and pounded her fists down angrily, scaring the shit out of little Totter. He made a disapproving sound and nudged her as he stared up at something.

"W-what is it, Totter?" She then swirled around to see what was in the line of his gaze.

"KYAAAAAAA!"

There staring her in the face was a glowing white light. Ball. Orb. Thing. Felicity kept on shrieking as the thing seemed to smack her across the face. And smacked her again. And again. And again. Then she finally backed up. Felice touched her now red cheeks and hissed.

"OWWWIIEEEEE! THAT HURT, YOU DAMN DOUCHEBAG!"

Not really caring what the hell it was anymore, Felicity launched forward and grabbed the ball, trapping it between her fingers. Then, she repeatedly hit it against the grass.

"NO ONE MESSES WITH ME!" After a few rounds of repeated hits and growing tired of the violence, Felicity tossed the ball as far as she could and lay down, panting heavily.

"What….the hell….was that?"

Sadly for her, she was oblivious to the fact the orb had quickly made it's return and it was angrily floating over her dead.

"Tch. Dumb bitch, I'll get you back for that another time." And then, faster than you can say ravioli orgy, a portal of doom consumed Felicity.

As she was swallowed by a crazy unreal darkness, Felicity's last words were as following:

"K-KEVIN! SAVE MEHHH! NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

* * *

><p>Felicity groaned, rubbing her eyes. What happened? Where was she? As she made an attempt to lift her head, she banged it against thick metal.<p>

"OW! CHRIST ALMIGHTY, THAT HURT!" She tried to move her body, only to find that she was confined in some tight, dark space. **VERY** tight and dark, might I add. Her eyes widened and she screamed.

"OH MEHH GAWD! I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED BY THE DOUCHEBAG LIGHT! KYAAA, SOMEONE SAVE MEHHH!" She banged on the metal walls, but to no avail. Suddenly, she heard someone from….._**THE OUTSIDE!**_(Dun Dun Dun DUN DUNN!)

"What in the world is that noise…?" A voice asked. It sounded like a middle-aged woman. The voice came closer and closer.

"What in the…" Then, someone opened up one of the metal walls.

As Felicity predicted, a middle-age woman peered in with a shocked face, shrieking out:

"WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME ARE YOU DOING IN MY _OVEN_?"

* * *

><p>* I've decided Renton is the name of Aspen and the other's home town.<p> 


	25. At Last, A Member With Magic

One hundred and three reviews. This is history in the making. Thank you all for your help and giving me feedback! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

And as for the special, it will be coming as soon as we get all the OC's in. Only two more, so it shouldn't take long.

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><p>I puffed out my cheeks angrily, recalling what happened with Natsu and his team. Natsu…..that dumb fire mage! He could at least <em>try<em> and cover up his laughter, but nooooo, instead he had to rub it all up in my face! _That little…that dumb piece of….THAT STUPID ROSE BUD! GAHHHHH!_

"Aspen...ASPEN!" I jump at the sound of Forsythia calling my name. Heh, forgotten she had come along. We both walked along the path of the town casually, having no particular destination.

"Uh, y-yeah?" I reply, finally.

"Oh, good, you're back. You were totally spacing out on me there…." She smiled.

I blink, realizing something. I stopped walking altogether.

"Hey, Forsythia?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have a team?"

"W-well, not exactly….why?" She widened her eyes.

I grinned, mentally cheering. _WOOOT! One more member for Team Bitchin'!_

"Well, how about you join my team?"

"I…b-but, why? You..you don't even know what type of mage I am! What if I'm not strong enough…..?" She blushed and her mouth dropped a little. I blew her off with my hand, throwing an arm around her shoulder. She blushed even more.

"Oh, Forsythia. Haven't you realized it by now? Team Bitchin' isn't about strength. Hell, our entire team is currently magicless! It's all about the _**BOND BETWEEN FRIENDS!**_" It was silent for a few moments, but then we both burst out laughing at my cheesiness.

"Okay, I'll do it. I'll join your team, Aspen." I did a fist pump. _Yeah, now we actually have a mage on our team! Speaking of which…._

"Hey, what _is _your magic, anyway?"

"Um, I use bio-make magic. It's fairly new, actually, so not that many people know about it….." The bluenette smiled sheepishly, twiddling with her fingers.

"Sounds…complicated. How's it work?" I cocked my head curiously. Bio-make magic? I had definitely never heard of it.

We began walking once more; occasionally glancing at all the shops we passed by. It really was a peaceful little town, I noticed.

"Well, you see, you use bio-make magic to strengthen yourself. …Kind of like a power up. It makes you stronger, faster, tougher, etcetera. It really is quite a handy magic. The only problem is…" Forsythia looked at her arm, and for the first time I noticed many little scars adorning her skin.

"If you push the bio-make magic too hard, it will backfire on you, and, well…the results aren't very good, as you can see," she sighed, brushing a stray hair out of her face. "I can't tell you how many times I have hurt myself since studying bio-make."

I frowned in concern. If she was getting harmed by the magic, then why do it? I knew that if I were in her spot, I would've given up a long time ago. Then again, not everyone was as lazy as me.

"Oh…I'm sorry, that must be really-" I was cut off as a shriek made its way into my ears. Startled, I grabbed Forsythia for protection and peered out at where the cry had come from.

In the house in front of us came two females storming out of the building. One was a normal, everyday housewife, but the other girl was definitely an eye catcher. For more reasons than one.

She wore strange clothes. Well, not strange to _me, _but to everyone else in the Fairy Tail world, I'm sure that is what they would be considered. A baggy Forever 21 tank hung off of her loosely, messily stuffed into her pink shorts. Her hair was straight and long, but her bangs were neatly chopped, and….dyed pink. Obviously this girl was in desperate need for attention, judging on the way she dressed.

"What in the world were you doing in my oven, you…you….vile creature! Shoo, shoo! Before I call for help!" The housewife savagely beat the teenager off of her property, no doubt scaring the daylights out of her in the process.

"...I take it she is another from the 'real' world?" Forsythia asked quietly. I nodded. _Damn. This girl catches on fast._

The fashion-confused girl wormed around on the floor of the streets, having what seemed to be a spaz attack. While Forsythia got rid of the forming crowd, I awkwardly managed to grab a hold of the girl, shaking her shoulders until she would stop mumbling 'Kevin'.

"Miss? Miss? GOD DAMN IT, WOMAN! ANSWER ME!" Finally, the girl snapped out of it. She looked at me with panic-stricken hazel orbs.

"You-you have to help me! The-the light, it sent me-it sent me to an oven, that STUPID LIGHT-" I threw a hand over her mouth. Light?

_Damn it. It's that light lady that Camden told me about. There's no doubt that she's behind all of this. But why is she targeting a couple of useless kids? OH GOD, IS SHE SOME KIND OF PEDO-_

"Aspen! Is everything alright?" I snapped my head up to Forsythia.

"I suppose you could say that." Laughing nervously, I nodded.

"But, in any case," I turned to the frightened and confused pink-banged girl. "Looks like we have yet another member of the team! Welcome aboard, recruit!"

* * *

><p>Now, if I missed anything or made any stupid mistakes, please inform me. I am very sleepy and cannot think straight.<p>


	26. Cleaning Habits and Midnight Figures

In answer to your reviews:  
><strong><br>ArchShadow24: Ehh, I think I got four. I think. But don't quote me on that, since I'm too lazy to check.**

**Purplechalkwitch: That would be awesome! I'm planning on making many pictures in the future, and it would be nice to have a little backup! **

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><p>Forsythia and I eagerly took the young girl, whose name I discovered was Felicity, and sat her down with us under a large tree. I took comfort in sitting in the cool shadows, and crossed my legs as I explained to her the entire situation.<p>

"So…..I'm in Fairy Tail now?" She asked, eyebrows raised disbelievingly. I chuckled, nodding my head.

"Yep. That's right!" I then squawked surprisingly as she burst out laughing.

"YES! Oh, this is just _awesome_! Fairy Tail is my favorite manga! I can't believe I'm really here! It's like a dream come true! " The girl shook her hips, somewhat victoriously, and fist pumped. My eye twitched at her spazziness.

_Damn….this girl puts my annoying aspects to shame._

"Uh, yeah…..soooo do you wanna go become a member, or what?" I asked awkwardly. Forsythia helped me up and we both stared curiously at Felicity.

She stopped her dancing and looked at us, hearts, stars and rainbows surrounding her aura beautifully.

"Yeah! Let's go!" She yanked on both of our hands and we were sent flying towards the guild once more.

* * *

><p>I hesitantly set foot into the guild, not wanting to attract attention. Attention means questioning, and we couldn't have people digging into where we got Felicity. We had to make her joining as subtle as possible.<p>

"This way. Mira is just over there." Forsythia, Felicity and I stealthily danced over to the white haired model.

"Oh, hello Aspen, Forsythia. Who is this, a new friend?" She looked at us softly. I glanced at Felicity, groaning as she seemed to have a held-together spaz attack at the sight of Mira.

"Hi, Mirajane. This is Felicity, an….old friend of mine who moved into town recently." Forsythia smiled and answered politely. I raised my eyebrows. Forsythia didn't seem like the type to lie, nonetheless come up with _good_ lies.

"I would like to know if she could join Fairy Tail!" Mirajane flashed a closed-eye smile and bobbed her head yes.

"But of course she can! The more, the merrier, after all~" We followed Mira over to where she kept the stamp.

"Okay, Felicity. What color and where?" Felicity shook with excitement, racking her mind for the correct tattoo choices.

"Well, Mirajane, if you wouldn't mind, I would like a dark green tattoo! On my shoulder! Please. AND THANK YOU!"

I rolled my eyes. This chick need to take a serious chill pill.

Laughing melodically, Mirajane did as Felicity wanted and placed a dark green stamp on her right shoulder. _No fair….how come HERS isn't upside down?_

_"You did your tattoo by yourself, remember?"_ Epi said to me. I tried my best to ignore her.

"There you go, Felicity! Now you are officially a member of Fairy Tail." Felicity squealed, shaking where she was standing.

"W-what the hell is wrong with you, Camden?" I frowned. That was Lin's voice no doubt. Oh boy, what was the drama this time?

"THIS IS WHAT'S WRONG, LIN! Look at this mess! Oh my goodness, this will leave such a stain! IT SIMPLY CANNOT DO!" I face faulted as I saw Lin, Lily and Camden all standing together, surrounding a large puddle of juice that sat on a piece of carpet. But that wasn't what bothered me.

Camden sat on his knees, a clearly bothered expression written all over his face. He had somehow dressed himself in a light pink apron, and attached to that was a pocket holding various cleaning tools, including a fluffy maid feather duster. He was currently holding a rag, attempting to scrub out the juice.

I picked myself up and walked over to them, temporarily leaving Forsythia and Felicity.

"Um, guys, what the hell….."

Lin just ignored me, and Lily shot me a depleted look that just read _I don't fucking know._

"Oh, Lin here just decided to knock down his cup and spill his drink all over the carpet! God, I swear, if you try pulling anything like that in our room, I will _murder you." _Lin hid behind Lily, much to her chagrin.

Once Camden was satisfied, he stood up and managed to change clothes within one second.

_I don't even want to know._

"Um...anyway, I have good news, team! We have two new members!" I told the trio happily, clapping my hands together.

"Yes, that is right!" Forsythia suddenly joined me and saluted. They still looked confused.

"Okay, if Forsythia is one…..then who is the other member?" Lin asked quietly. I whipped my head over to where Felicity was chatting with Mirajane.

"FELICITY! YOU ARE NEEDED!" Throwing her head up at being mentioned, she loyally made her way over to our group. She smiled cheerfully, brushing the bangs out of her face.

"Hello, everyone! I am sooo happy to be able to join your team! I just hope you will all accept me."

I threw an arm her shoulder. "Guys, say hello to Felicity! Another real-worlder. Forsythia and I found her while roaming the streets."

"Another one, huh? It's nice to meet you, cutie." Camden gave Felicity an approving eye. He flashed a killer smile her way and she paused, struck by his boyish charms. I expected her to do something spazzy and obnoxious, like giggling her head off like the typical fangirl. But instead, the girl grew stiff and pink in the face, biting her lip shyly. She twiddled with her thumbs and continued to avoid his gaze.

I smirked. It seems as though someone had a crush on a certain blonde. Felicity was having a true-blue Juvia moment.

As everyone continued to small talk amongst themselves, I got Felicity's attention.

"Hey," I said calmly. "You don't have a place to stay, do you?" She shook her head.

"Um, not really. Is that bad? Oh, I'm sorry, was I supposed to-"

"No, you are fine, Felice. In fact, I have an idea." I slapped a hand over her mouth, groaning.

I thought about my new, disgusting citrus-scented room and my days of living in the guild.

"Say, do you happen to like oranges?"

* * *

><p>I put a hand on my hips, wiping my brow. I spent a good hour getting Felicity settled into my room, which was now her room. I decided that it would just be less of a hassle if I resorted back to nights in the guild.<p>

"Wow! It's so cozy in here. You really are a life-saver, Aspen." Felicity looked to me with grateful eyes. I sighed, shrugging.

"It's the least I can do. Just….try to not be so hyper anymore, 'kay?" She laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry for that. I just get very….hyper whenever I am overly excited." I accepted her apology and was about to leave, when she caught my wrist.

"Oh, and Aspen….that dashing boy, with the blonde hair….his name was Camden, right?" I raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Hm….Camden….what a _dream boat." _And with that, I laughed and shut the door.

* * *

><p>It was around midnight. I was all alone in the guild, my only sources of protection being nightlights and a crowbar. I gripped onto my weapon, pondering on whether or not I should go investigate.<p>

A minute earlier, I had heard a loud crash coming from across the room. But I hadn't been ballsy enough to go see what it was.

I flinched as I heard a ruffling noise. My nightlights couldn't shine their light all the way over there, so I was clueless as to who or what it was.

"Son of a bitch…" I muttered, bravely limping over there, crowbar in one hand and nightlight in the other. _Step, step, step. Almost there…._

In a frenzy, I shone my light onto the area.

I shrieked in horror as I saw a dark figure looming over me.


	27. Nightmare

**Themulchmeister: Thank you so much for all of your reviews and critiquing! Please don't feel bad, I understand where you are coming from. At least now I know which areas I have to correct! So please, do continue the constructive criticism, it really helps.**

Anyway, here's the chapter with Nightmare/Lucas, who belongs to HollowKyuubi94. I hope that he is to your liking.

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><p>It was late evening, with milky moonlight spilling into a dimly lit room. There sat a young man, who was approximately 17 years old. He had shoulder-length ebony hair, and similarly black eyes. Two scars arorned the right side of his face, one that ran from his right ear to the space between his eyes, the other going from his hairline, through his right eye and to his chin. The lower part of the man's jaw was covered with a black and red steel mask that resembled the lower part of a skull. The man's name was Lucas Kagidzume.<p>

He sat against the wall, earphones buzzing with music that leaked out forlorn verses. A Fairy Tail manga sat comfortingly in his chalky hands, each page delicately being turned by the second. His eyes zipped back and forth as he tried his best to shove the day's events out of minds view and concentrate on reading.

His entire life, Lucas had been treated poorly. Hell, poorly was an understatement. His entire life had been _hell._ It had mostly begun when he entered eighth grade, and he had unknowingly submitted himself to what would be the 'beginning of the end'.

His fellow classmates has bellowed out their daily rage on him, simply because Lucas was the 'school toy'. No one cared about his well being or what he thought, they only used his as an _object_ to vent on. Teachers sadistically amused themselves by altering his grades, but only to the point where he failed, but still managed to pass on to the next year. Things remained like that for some time.

Although his school life was only a majority of the world he referred to as hell. After suffering a days worth at school, he had the privelege of being sent straight home, to where his second torturer of life awaited him. His mother.

Most people expect mothers to be kind and adoring figures, but that was just plain stereotyping. Lucas' mother was living proof of that. In the beginning it only started with violent slaps, caused by his bad grades. Soon, it started to evolve into pure hatred; according to her, Lucas was ruining her life. Her plan was to make him a genius, make him have the best grades around so he could get a well-paying job and she would be handed all of the money. Easy, right?

Well unfortunately, it wasn't going to happen if Lucas kept getting the sucky-ass grades, as she called it. So as punishment, she began abusing him to no end.

And the abuse eventually triggered a chain reaction, turning his heart and soul into the materialization of negative feelings. Any sign of positive emotions that he ever had eventually disintegrated into pure nothingness. His soul was now an empty vessel, holding only the feelings he had for the people around him.

_And that was hatred, despair, sadness and wrath._

And so his mother continued to beat him, hoping to prove to him that he was worth only as much as the grades he brought home. But apparently, it wasn't working as Lucas continued to bring home poor grades. So she resorted to beating him half to death. But Lucas did not hold it against her; that way, at least, he could be good for _something. _Then, she began cutting him. She started with the areas where no other could seen what she had done to her son-no, her _property. _To her, Lucas did not deserve in the slightest to be referred to as her son. He was simply an object, a tool for using. Nothing more, nothing less.

But after a couple times too many, his mother went out of control. She slashed his face two times, both cuts being very deep and going across his right eye. That night was the first that Lucas has 'the dream'.

The dream was gore-filled and terrifying, some would even consider it to be a nightmare. But no, not for Lucas. To Lucas, it was his freedom. There, Lucas could be himself-his true self. His truly demonic, machine, and evil self. And there he could finally bring judgment upon his punishers.

In his dream, he looked different, as well. Lucas had four horns that hovered above his head, forming an X formation, and looked similar to a crown of sorts. Between those horns lay a black and red flame, with a crimson halo circling the horns. His left eyes was pitch black with a bloody iris, and his damaged eye was no longer injured, despite the scars remaining-in it's place was a scanner from a machine. His teeth had been soaked scarlet from the blood of his victims.

On his back were two steel wings, broken and torn, but were held together with blood. His back also held a pair of cannons, connected to his body with wires that allowed ground and anti-air combat. His skinny body was protected with armor, and the back of his hand guards were the Kanjis for Blood, on the right, and Despair, on the left. His hands carried black blades that substituted his fingers.

His legs were that of a black dragon, and he quipped a long sword-like tail, which was practically covered in Kanjis that held every negative emotion he had ever experienced.

With this form, Lucas was always able to destroy his torturers, killing them each slowly and then devouring their bodies afterword. In his dream Lucas himself was the torturer-he finally was able to feel alive, as he always should have. This world was where he could finally let go off all the stress and the pain, where he could _finally_ set punishment upon those who have ever hurt him. It was only what they deserved, after all.

However, the next day at school, he had found a group of his fellow students and teachers talking behind his back, as per usual.

"Man, what kind of idiot is this guy?" One of the males snickered. "We can manipulate him so easily, and he thinks he deserves it! Ridiculous!"

"Yeah, he doesn't even realize that the teachers give him bad grades on purpose! Not to mention they are quizzing him on stuff that we aren't supposed to learn until next year!" Another voice piped in. ""

"How can he be so _stupid_ and not see this, I can't believe I was his friends for two years!" A blonde fellow nodded, sighing.

Lucas had heard it all. In his head, something had finally snapped. He had had enough. On that life-changing afternoon, Lucas had slowly begun to sink into personal insanity. He was becoming his true self at last.

The next day was an event that everyone would remember. Rather then the casual tee and jeans Lucas usually sported, he had come dressed in black and red-his signature colors. But that isn't what scared everyone the most. Later that day, Lucas had beat ten of his bullies to near death and had left his own personal mark on them-a snake devouring itself. But because of that, Lucas was thrown out of school for good.

And now here he was, at home reading his manga. Lucas didn't in the slightest regret what he did-in fact, he was quite proud. He had finally taken a stand and delivered justice to the cruel bastards that had hurt him for so long. But even so, that was only ten people. There were still so many more people out there that would hurt him, just like the others did.

Lucas brushed his long hair out of his face.

"I wish I could transform myself, then everyone will respect me. I wish...I wish I could live in the world of Fairy Tail, that would give me a new start." He closed his eyes, leaning against the wall.

_A new start...that would be nice._

But Lucas missed the sneaky little white light that floated around his room. It stared at him for only a second, before landing carefully on the Fairy Tail manga book. And then, a bright glow surrounded Lucas and his room, and his entire being was sucking into the light before he could even realize it.

* * *

><p>Lucas winced as he landed on something hard, and felt wood break beneath him. Wait a second, hadn't he been in his room just a minute ago?<p>

He opened his eyes wearily, and noticed that he was in a pitch black room. In the distance he could see a tiny light of sorts, but it was too far away for him to tell what it was. Lucas stood up and raised his arms in defense, ready to take anyone down that dared to challenge him. He waited patiently for the ever slow-moving light figure to approach him.

And suddenly, before he knew it, Lucas Kagidzume had a screaming banchee in his face.


	28. Bad Boy Slumber Party

I continued to scream my head off as the large, dark shadow calmly picked me up by my wrist, leaving my frail body to dangle in the air. I had unfortunately dropped both nightlight and crowbar, so I could only kick my feet restlessly, desperate to get the hell away from that _beast._

A luminescent black eye glared into me threateningly as I continued to wail.

"AHHH! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I DON'T WANNA DIE! UWAHH! NOW I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO EAT BACON AGAIN!"

Then, suddenly, the shadow twisted our bodies around, so that I was being held against the wall with his hand on my throat.

_Yeah, I'm so gonna die._

The shadow's face leaned near mine and growled out, "Who are you and where am I?" I squeaked out, trying my best not to pee my pants at that moment.

_Damn it, Aspen, don't you dare! These are _brand new _pants!_

"I'm A-Aspen...and this is Fairy Tail! …...and if you decide to kill me, then I hope you know that once I'm in the afterlife, I will be sure to come back and haunt your ass-"

"...Wait, what did you say? Fairy Tail?" He tightened his grip and raised me higher.

"Y-YES!" I nodded my head as much as physically possible.

Then, I was dropped to the floor. The shadow just stood there, in what seemed like...shock, but I didn't give a shit, to be honest. I scrambled over to the crowbar and raised it in fury.

"OH! NOW YOU'VE DONE IT, BIG GUY! THE TABLES HAVE OFFICIALLY TURNED!" I grinned maliciously as I neared him. But he paid me no mind.

"H-hey! Are you even listening? GAWDD! WHY DOES EVERYONE ALWAYS IGNORE ME?"

"_Because you are an idiot. Why should anyone listen to an idiot?" _My inner anime conscience asked me with an evil snicker.

_I am not an idiot, Epi! Besides, you are a part of me, so that's basically calling yourself an idiot!_

"_W__hatever. Have you even thought about the chances of this guy being from your world?"_

My jaw fell open with shock. _Er...yes! Of course I have! DUH, EPI, I'M NOT AN IDIOT!_

I turned my attention once more to the mysterious shadow man who was having some sort of 'Deep Reflection Of The Universe' moment.

"Hey...are you alright?" I asked as softly as possible, trying my best to play the role of the 'Caring, Innocent and Childlike' heroine.

...but really, I just didn't feel like getting my face smashed in. He turned to me and this time I got a good look at him, thanks to my nightlight. He was actually kind of attractive, with his silky long black hair and striking black eyes. His scars on his face were very noticeable, but gave off the whole, 'Badass Evil Rebel Man'. Scratch that, he was _totally _attractive._Just my type, too!_

It was a long pause until he said, "...what would you care?" His voice was stern and monotone. I laughed nervously, scratching the back of my head.

"W-well, I don't know...it's just that you seem a little troubled, that's all..." He turned away from me once more, arms crossed. An awkward silence filled the space between us.

"So...beautiful day today!" I chirped awkwardly, only then realizing it was not only night, but a rather ghastly one, as well. _Way to be Kosub, way to be..._

Then, before I could blink, the man grabbed me roughly by the shoulders and shoved me into the wall. Again. I groaned in pain sourly as he pressed his face into mine and had our noses touching.

"Tell me...Aspen_,_" he said, way too seriously in my opinion. I squirmed in complete discomfort and nervousness at the lack of room between of us. "Am I...really in Fairy Tail?"

I just barely managed to make out a reply, in fear that my lips would somehow brush into his. God help us all if they did.

"Y-yesssss..."

"I see...interesting." He nodded roughly, stepping back.

I face faulted. _THAT'S ALL HE HAS TO SAY? AFTER THAT?_

"S-s-s-s-sooooo..." I began shakily as I stood up, still trying to recover from that heated session he just made me experience.

"I take it you are from...you know, the 'real world'?"

His eyebrows raised just the _slightest_ tad, a sign I guess meant he was shocked, and before he could speak I added in, "If you are, than no worries. I'm from the real world too!"

"It's a very long story, but I'm sure I can fill you in. But, uh...are you gonna tell me your name?" I put my hands on my hips and faced him cheerfully.

He blinked at me and after a seconds pause, expressionlessly added, "Nightmare. Just Nightmare."

_Nightmare, eh? Well, I guess we have another member for Team Bitchin'! _I smiled to myself. Rather absent-mindlessly, I decided that I liked this Nightmare man-he was the perfect addition to the team, not to mention a real cutie.

'Someone has a crush_.' _Epi teased. I grinned bashfully, not even trying to deny it, and frolicked over to the rookie.

Giddily, I childishly grabbed Nightmare by the hand and led him over to my sleeping fort, created of pillows and blankets.

"But first, we should get some sleep. I'll be sure to explain everything tomorrow." I honestly didn't have the mentality to explain anything to him right then. After this long, terrifying, intense, and all around mentally scarring night, I needed some sleep.

I snuggled into a pink cotton blankie and purred happily. Nightmare loomed over me awkwardly.

"...and where am I supposed to sleep?"

I patted the spot right next to me. He blinked at me without saying a word.

"Oh, come on, Nighty!" I giggled at the new-found nickname. Nightmare only deadpanned, as usual.

"It's not a big deal! It'll be just like a slumber party! You can be like my BFF!"

"I...suppose I can work with this..." So he slowly made his way next to me but continued to glare distrustfully my way.

"Hey, what's wrong? Do you not trust me or something?" I frowned. Nightmare flipped his hair and looked away.

"Why should I? I have no reason to." I puffed out my cheeks and stubbornly pressed on.

"B-but...I'm innocent! I have done nothing wrong! Why don't you trust me? I trust you!" _Maybe a little too much._

He ignored me as he stared dull-fully at the wall. I sighed.

"Listen. I'm not gonna try to hurt you, I promise! You may not understand at this very moment, but you are part of the family now, Nightmare! And I don't hurt my family members, damn it! SO STOP YOUR WHINING AND GET YOUR ASS TO SLEEP!"

And so I turned around and buried my face into my pillow, somewhat content with my little speech.

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><p>Nightmare stared at Aspen in somewhat of an awe. This girl, who had only just met him, and even after he tried to kill her, was saying she <em>trusted him? <em>He wasn't sure whether she was some sort of sacred, God-given miracle personified, or if she was just really, really, stupid.

It was probably the latter.

Nightmare brushed the hair out of his face and lay down. After all, it's not like he had much of a choice now. If he really was stuck in the Fairy Tail world-which he secretly hoped he was- then that meant he was going to have to get used to this whole 'trusting' thing. Even if it meant sleeping right next to insane teen girls that he just met.

He took one last glance at the now-sleeping brunette before shutting his own eyes, and the two peacefully indulged in (not-so) quiet slumber, even when Aspen unintentionally began to _cuddle_ with Nightmare sometime throughout the night.

And when everyone came back to open up in the morning, all hell was raised by a certain jealous Dragon Slayer.


	29. Longest Chapter In The History Of Long

This has got to be my longest chapter ever. But I made it like that on purpose, as I just realized we are at 30 chapters and haven't even actually begun with the arcs. *facepalm*

**Themulchmeister: *laughs* Haha, okay, I think I _finally_ understand the whole paragraph thing. I think I've cleared it up...I think. I'll make sure to go back on every chapter and sort things out. But anyway, no worries on the criticism- it really isn't a problem at all. In fact, I think you've made my writing improve a lot just with your reviews!**

Oh, and this chapter is gonna be mostly 3rd person, but anytime you spot an I in there, we're switching back to Aspen. So, repeating myself, _the only time you'll ever see 1__st__ person is when we are back with Aspen. _Capiche? Because I'm just too lazy to write in 'Aspen POV' every time we switch.

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><p>The sun creeped out at the end of the world, causing the sky to shine brilliant rays of pink, purple and sherbert orange across the land. It was just barely dawn in Fiore, and most of the residents were still sleeping. However, down below, Mirajane and Master Makarov were happily making their way over to the guild to open up, as they did every day. Elfman normally would have accompanied his older sister, although that day he was sick at home, and insisted that Mirajane left without him.<p>

"Hey, Mira! Old man! Wait up!" Came a familiar voice, that was surprisingly energized for such an early time of day. The white haired girl and the said 'old man' turned to see Natsu and Happy, running (or flying, in Happy's case) to catch up.

"Natsu! Well this is a pleasant surprise." Mirajane smiled. Makarov, being the grumpy old coot he is, huffed at the fire mage and crossed his arms.

"What are you doing up so early? Here to cause some more trouble?" Natsu grinned, placing his arms behind his head in a lazy manner.

"Nah, Happy and I just got up a little early, that's all." The blue cat nodded with an overdose of enthusiasm.

"Aye!" But in truth, there was more of a story to it than that. In fact, Natsu and Happy, both, had cooked up a little plan with Lucy the day before. It was about Aspen.

He hadn't talked to the brunette since the other day, when she got upset after he laughed at her. Natsu didn't really feel guilty for it, that's just how girls were. Overemotional and dramatic, over thinking every little detail. He didn't think all too much of it as she sulked away to go take a nap. It's not like he had _really_ hurt her feelings, right? But when Lucy confronted him later that day, he began to think otherwise.

_~The Night Before~_

"_Natsu!" The celestial spirit mage had called, running over to him just as he and Happy were heading out._

"_Eh? What is it, Lucy?" Natsu turned to look at his friend with a slightly annoyed look. He was in no mood to deal with her strange antics. (Complete hypocrite right there, folks.)_

_Lucy panted, brushing hair out of her face as she put her hands on her knees, breathing heavily._

"_Thank goodness I found you! Look, we need to talk about earlier. I think that you should apologize to Aspen." Natsu and Happy were able to keep straight faces for about 0.2 seconds, before they erupted in a fit of manly (and, in Happy's case, not so manly) giggles._

"_Aha! Ahaha! Hold on, _apologize?_ Ahuha, why would I do that!" Natsu choked out, just barely managing to word the sentence. He held his stomach for dear life, trying to stop laughing. He sure was having a funny day._

"_Aye! Aspen looked fine to me!" Happy added in with support. Lucy deadpanned, wondering how the hell Happy got that idea. The girl was obviously hurt by Natsu's idiot actions! The blonde put a finger to her chin thoughtfully._

There's no way I'll be able to get these two to apologize just for the sake of apologizing...I have to think of another way.

_Then, it hit her. She knew _exactly _how to get the dragon slayer to say sorry, even if it meant stretching the truth a bit._

"_Well, you never know..." Lucy paused for effect. Natsu and Happy stopped laughing, finally, and looked at Lucy with undying curiosity._

"_Aspen is very temperamental, and Lord knows what she might do to you two if she's still mad about it..." Natsu froze as well as Happy as they both thought about the horrible outcome that could be them if Aspen did what Lucy suggested. The rose-haired boy shuddered at the idea._

"_That would almost be as bad as Erza..." Natsu whispered in fear, an image of a rampaging, crowbar-quipped Aspen in his head. Lucy smirked in victory as Natsu began nodding._

"_I guess it wouldn't be that bad of an idea to apologize to Aspen..."_

"_A-aye..."_

_Lucy happily slapped a hand on Natsu's shoulder in encouragement._

"_That's the spirit, you two! Hey, how about you two go see her right in the morning tomorrow?" Natsu's face fell and he pouted sadly._

"_Aww! But Luce, do we _have_ to wake up early? I don't see why we just can't wait until-"_

"_Well, then's there is the chance of Aspen pulling a sneak attack...do you _really_ want to risk that?" Lucy's eyes flashed mischievously._

_Natsu and Happy took one look at each other, and that was all they needed to immediately change their minds._

"_We'll go see her in the morning!"_

And so, here he was, walking to the guild at six friggin' o' clock in the morning just to apologize to that troublesome rookie, whom had resorted back to sleeping in the guild, according to Lucy. He yawned, rubbing his face tiredly.

"Geez, I'm beginning to wonder if this is worth the trouble." But then again, Natsu wasn't particularly hoping to be viciously beaten by a crowbar-wielding midget girl...

"Natsu! Hey!" The pinkette turned to see none other then the girl had suggested this whole rendezvous in the first place.

"Hey, Lucy." She bounced up to her fellow wizard, adorned in her usual outfit.

"So you really _did_ wake up early! I didn't think you would do it!" She smiled charmingly, happy that he decided to go with her plan. Even if it meant waking up early, she wanted to be there when Natsu apologized to Aspen.

_It's going to be sooo romantic!_ She sighed dreamily, happy to play 'Matchmaker' for the two. Even if one of them was an obnoxious, violent amnesiac and the other was a hopelessly oblivious Dragon Slayer.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with." Natsu grumbled, crossing his arms. Women were so weird.

Suddenly, he, Lucy and Happy were stopped short as they found themselves standing in front of Fairy Tail. Natsu blinked, somewhat surprised they had arrived so soon. Mirajane smiled cheerfully.

"It looks like we are here!" She took the keys out of her pocket and slowly opened up the doors to the guild. Natsu gulped, somewhat of a sweat rolling down his toned body. _Well, here goes nothin'..._

And then, as each person peered into the eerily still guild, they found a sight which none of them could have expected. Ever.

As always, a constant migraine-inducing production of snores came from Aspen, but that wasn't the problem here. There she was, on the floor, comfortably resting in a puddle of blankets and a sandwich of pillows. But that wasn't the problem, either. The problemwasn't even the young man that had joined Aspen on the floor, sleeping right beside her.

Oh, no no no. The _problem_ was the fact that this mysterious unknown man was spooning, yes, _spooning,_ with Aspen. His lean had wrapped around her tiny body, and she was snuggled up to his chest in adoration.

And the moment Natsu saw this, he didn't know why, he didn't _care _why_;_ but all that Natsu knew at that moment was that he had the undying want-no, the _need-_to completely MURDER this man. And that was exactly what he was going to do.

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><p>Lucy stood in pure shock as she gaped at Aspen and the man she was snuggling up to. Behind her, Mira Jane put a delicate hand to her face.<p>

"Oh my," she breathed softly, not sure what to make of the scene. Then again, Mirajane was not one to judge people, so what did she care if Aspen had miraculously found a boyfriend over night? Makarov only chuckled, muttering something about 'kids these days'. Happy flew around next to Lucy and Natsu, giggling happily and rolling his tongue.

"Kufufufu~ She likessssssss him~"

Lucy managed to snap her jaw shut and blushed vermillion. _Just what in the world did Aspen do last night? _And here she was, trying to get Natsu and Aspen together, and the damn girl had the nerve to go sleep with some stranger off the streets! Lucy really hoped they had just walked in at an awkward time. Sighing, she looked to Natsu, but her eyes widened greatly.

Natsu was smoking. Literally. Flames threatened to devour the world around them as they consumed his entire body, producing lovely little puffs of smoke. His eyes held a very dangerous glare; a kind of which Lucy has never seen before.

_No way...is Natsu...jealous? No, that can't be! Natsu is _never jealous_! I mean, he's Natsu! _Before she could ponder more on the troubling subject, she saw Natsu's hands collide together, readying an attack. She yelped out, realizing he was going to attack that man.

"FIRE DRAGON'S BRILLIANT-flahh!" Natsu just barely managed to finish his move as Lucy tackled him to the ground, preventing him from his sole mission at the moment.

"Lucy! What are you doing! Get off of me!" He struggled to escape her deadly female grip, but she held on for dear life. Happy tried to help Natsu out by pulling Lucy's hair, which proceed to aggravate her, thus tightening her grip.

"No! You can't just go-OW, HAPPY!-attacking people, Natsu! Control-OWW-yourself!" Mirajane, and Makarov only watched the three tussle on the floor, Mirajane in somewhat of a concern and Makarov in amusement.

"Master, shouldn't we help...?" The white haired girl looked at her shorter dwarf-like boss with worry. He brushed her off with all of the casualty in the world.

"No, no, they are fine. Just let it be."

And so, Lucy and Natsu and even Happy continued to play tug-of-war with each other, Natsu occasionally shouting things such as, "KILL! MUST KILL!" and whatnot.

But they were all cut short of their actions as they saw movement in the distance. To their surprise, the black haired man had awoken, and was now calmly removing Aspen from his body and sat up, looking at the guild members with a raised brow.

* * *

><p>Nightmare blinked as he woke up. He had undoubtedly been waken by all of the strange noise coming from the other side of the room, unlike the girl clinging to him still soundly asleep. He noticed his arms were wrapped around her and wondered how <em>that<em> happened; he certainly didn't do it.

_Hm. Must of been the girl...Aspen. _He recalled the events from the night before and felt a rush of excitement muse it's way down his spine. Was he really in Fairy Tail? Or was this girl just a nut job who had escaped from the local asylum? He prayed it was the former.

With all the delicacy he could muster, he removed his arms and the small girl from him, and sat up sleepily. Then, he turned to investigate the source of all the racket. What he saw was mildly surprising, and certainly satisfying.

_Maybe this girl isn't a nut job after all...or rather, she's just a nut job...in the world of Fairy Tail._

He saw Natsu Dragneel wrestling on the floor with Lucy Heartfilia, and Happy the cat pulling and tugging at Lucy's hair. The pink haired boy was giving Nightmare a rather disturbing glare of death. It was almost enough to scare Nightmare. _Almost._

And standing above them was Makarov, the ever worthy guild Master, and Mirajane, the famous beauty of Fairy Tail. Now that he saw her in real life, Nightmare had to agree; she really was beautiful, like an angel. Of course, no one like that would ever converse with a guy like _him._

Then, Nightmare could only watch as Natsu managed to worm his way of of Lucy's grasp. He ran at Nightmare with full speed and completely surrounded by flames.

"DIE, YOU BASTARD!"

And thus, Nightmare was thrown across the room by Natsu's fist, and proceeded to be punched mercilessly by the mage. Nightmare was about as lost as a blind man in a desert. Why the hell was Natsu attacking him? And should he fight back? But Natsu was his like his hero! Would he even stand a chance? With no other choice, the raven-haired boy decided to do what he did best: fight. And so, Nightmare began to punch Natsu Dragneel just as Natsu Dragneel proceeded to punch him.

* * *

><p>"Natsu!" Lucy and Happy shrieked together as Natsu charged at the boy, showing no mercy as he threw hooks furiously.<p>

"Mira, do something!" In a panic, Lucy turned to Mirajane. The kind girl was at a loss, too, however.

"But...which side do we take?" Mirajane asked. Who here was the victim, and who was the attacker? Obviously, Natsu was in the wrong, but what if the man was some rapist or something? Then what? Were they to let Natsu beat him?

"I believe..." Makarov simply shook his head. Everyone stared in anticipation at what the wise elder had to say.

"Natsu is in the right." Lucy nearly face-faulted, and Happy cheered. Mirajane sighed with exasperation, but maintained a soft beam.

"W-WHAT? How could you think that, Master?" Lucy's brown eyes swam in confusion. Deciding to take a seat for the show, Makarov sat criss-cross apple-sauce and beckoned for Mira to join him. Hesitantly, she joined him on the floor with a weak smile.

"That man..." Suddenly, a dark, threatening glare was placed on Nightmare from Makarov. "Slept with my Aspen! SUCH BEHAVIOR IS UNNACCEPTABLE! I WILL NOT HAVE IT! THE MAN GETS WHAT HE DESERVES!"

This time, Lucy really did face-fault. _HIM TOO?_ She stood up, determination written on her face.

"Well, someone has to stop this! It isn't right for Natsu to beat up on an innocent man!"

_Not to mention it's TOTALLY getting in the way of my matchmaking plans!_

As she marched off to go stop the action, Happy flew after her and tackled her back to the floor.

"W-wha? Happy?" The blue cat shook his head stubbornly.

"No! I won't let you disrupt Natsu!" After all, what were best cat friends for if they didn't defend their partner?

"BAAH!" Lucy shrieked as Happy smothered her and proceeded to stick a fish in her mouth. He flew up, happy he managed to stop her. He turned to see how Natsu and Nightmare were doing. Sure enough, the stubborn two were punching and kicking each other with all they had. It was obvious Natsu was winning, thanks to his magic advantage, but the apparently-non-magic-user was faring pretty well, considering the circumstances.

"Yeah! Go Natsu! Ay-ahhhhhhh!" Happy shrieked as he went flying across the guild. Lucy had managed to get the fish out of her mouth and make her way back to standing. She hit Happy across the room, where he rather coincidentally ran into the one person allergic to him, who was still blissfully unaware of all the chaos around her. Happy bounced off of the girl's body and lay unconscious, having new pleasant dreams about fish.

* * *

><p>I sniffled.<p>

…

I sniffled again.

…

I sniffled a third time.

…

"A-ACHOOOOOOOOOO~!" I sneezed furiously and rubbed at my painfully itching nose. _What a horrible way to wake up..._ I looked to the side of me. _Wait...where is Nighty? _I remembered the events from last night, and widened my eyes. _That's right! He was right next to me last night! _I recalled putting his arms around my body sometime during the night, as well. So...where did he go?

I rubbed at my nose again and wiped the excess drool from my mouth, deciding to look around, and it was only then I saw the complete and utter hell that had become of the world around me.

Right next to me lay a knocked out Happy, which probably led to my sniffing and sneezing. Mirajane and Makarov sat down over near the doors in tranquility. But to my horror, a good feet away from me was Nightmare, Natsu, and Lucy, all having a big cat-fight.

To my ultimate devastation, my Nighty was bleeding and burnt, and he glared expressionlessly at Natsu, who was roughed up as well, but not comparable to Nightmare. Natsu returned the vicious glare, ruby flames licking the air around him as they traveled up and down his body. And there was Lucy, poor, poor Lucy, who was being used as a human shield by Nightmare. She wailed as Nighty continued to use her body to block any of Natsu's attacks.

"Get out of the way, Lucy!" Natsu roared, mysteriously intent on killing my new friend. Lucy shrieked back at him angrily.

"I would if I could!" I wasn't quite sure what the hell happened here, but I only knew I had to save Lucy! Standing up, I brushed the tangled, ratty bed-hair out of my face and began to charge at the trio.

"Don't worry, Lucy! I will save you-ahHHHH!" I managed to bring my foot down onto a blanket, and Lord behold, I was sent flying into the girl I was supposed to save, and her two captives came tumbling down with us.

"A-Aspen! You're awake!" Lucy gasped beside me, her face brightening in happiness at my sudden arrival.

"Y-yeah..." I moaned out, fully aware that Natsu and Nighty had collapsed on top of my body. We were forming a perfect example of a dog pile, excluding the lucky blonde had managed to avoid being toppled.

"E-eh...what the hell happened? Wait, Aspen?" Natsu popped his upside-down face in front of mine and I shrieked, rolling over to the side and successfully demolishing our dog pile. I gasped for air as the four of us, being Lucy, Natsu, Nighty and I, lay exhausted on the ground.

"N-Nightmare!" I managed to turn my head towards Nighty and pathetically crawled towards him.

"So you _do_ know him!" Lucy widened her eyes in realization.

"Yeah, you freakin' idiots! He's my friend! Are you okay, Nighty?"

The raven-haired man glanced at me, and stoically nodded.

"...it seems I have done something to upset Natsu, however." Nightmare sent a piercing glare towards said fire mage.

"Speaking of which, Natsu, WHAT THE HELL? Why did you go attacking Nightmare?" The dragon slayer grumbled stubbornly and stared at the floor.

"...I had a bad feeling about him, 's all." I raised my eyebrows as Lucy's head went smashing into the wooden floor and Nightmare did nothing, as usual.

"That's bull, Natsu! You were totally jealous, and you know it!" An enraged Lucy pointed at Natsu with accusation burning in her eyes.

"Jealous?" Natsu blinked nonchalantly.

"What is there to be jealous of?"

I felt a literary dagger stab at my heart as the insult echoed throughout my mind.

'What is there to be jealous of?'

_What is there to be jealous of?_

_**What is there to be jealous of?**_

"My heart...I think it just broke-!" I whispered, holding the place where said organ was. I dramatically collapsed as Lucy hovered over me.

"Aspen!" She sent a deadly look towards Natsu, who only shrugged.

"Damn it, Natsu...why do you have to be so oblivious?" She mumbled lowly to herself, although I could hear it.

"Like I said, I only attacked him because he could have been an enemy, or something. I was only protecting my nakama!" My heart pratically did the tango in my chest and I stood up, miraculously revived.

"Y-you were protecting me? You think of me as your nakama? Oh, HELL YEAH! WOOHOO!" I swirled around happily, fist pumping.

_That may not be a love confession, but we're definitely getting there!_

Then, a stern hand was placed on my shoulder. Nightmare.

"Aspen," He begun, quite seriously. "...would you mind if...I joined Fairy Tail? …..with your help?" I looked at him in sympathy. The poor thing probably wasn't used to asking favors like this; besides, I just couldn't say no to him-he was a part of the team, after all, and that meant part of the family. Like a brother, even.

"Sure, of cour-" I grinned, until Natsu interrupted me.

"Wait a minute, you can't just go letting this guy into the guild!" Natsu said.

"I still don't trust him...first, you have to tell us exactly how you guys meant! He could be a spy from a dark guild, or something!"

I deadpanned. Natsu sure was just throwing these ideas out there, wasn't he?

"Natsu, you flaming idiot!" Lucy raged.

"If Aspen trusts him, we should trust him too!" Nightmare had no say in the conversation. I sighed, putting my hands up as a peace offering.

"It's fine. If you guys really_ must _know what happened, then I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell."

I got into the Story Telling mode as I began thinking up a cover story for how I met Nightmare. _Hm...well, I suppose there's no getting out of the fact that we met in the middle of the night, so I guess I'll only have to twist the story a slight amount._

"Alright, here is how it went." I began formally, beginning to pace back and forth as my mind weaved its way through a basket of ideas.

"I was peacefully sleeping last night in the guild, as always. But then, at the stroke of midnight-"

I paused dramatically.

"...I heard..."

Everyone eagerly waited for me to finish, the thrill soaking in.

"A NOISE!"

Everyone gave me a 'Seriously? Are you that stupid?' look, excluding Nightmare, of course. I smiled, unaware to their faces, and continued on.

"Of course, after years of watching horror movies with settings featuring secluded, dark areas, I was scared out of my wits. But, being the brave, awesome, fearless heroine I am, I decided to investigate!"

I chose to leave out the several minutes of me hiding under the blankets in fear.

"So then, believe it or not, I came across a huge, scary shadow!"

I didn't see the look of warning Nightmare kept sending me, so I joyfully continued story-telling.

"I didn't realize it at the time, but that shadow was actually Nightmare! So anyway, it's kind of a funny story, 'cause then _Nightmare_ _tried to kill me_-"

It was then a truly slow-motion moment as Natsu burst into flames. Lucy and I shrieked, backing away from the roasting marshmallow of a man.

"AHA! So he did try to hurt you! Don't worry Aspen, I'll take this guy out for you!" I longingly reached out for the rosette to try and stop him, but any attempts were futile. Natsu was gone in a flash and had collided with my new teammate, and they had begun tussling all around Lucy and I.

"W-wait-! I-I didn't get to finish, though-!" My words went unheard as Nightmare and Natsu's war cries filled the guild air. I tried to grab Lucy for help, but I was devastated as she got sucked into the fight, as well.

"NOO! LUCYYYYYYYYYY!" I didn't know what to do. I ran around my fighting friends in a circle, screaming my lungs off.

_FREAKIN' NATSU! Why couldn't you have just listened to me for once?_

Then, a figure caught my eye. No, _two_ figures. Over near the doors was _**STILL**_ Mira and Makarov, but this time it looked as if Mirajane were convincing the Master into something. I brought my screams and runs to a halt as I curiously watched them.

* * *

><p>The blue-eyed beauty worriedly watched her fellow guild mates. It seemed as if Natsu and that boy had got into a fight again...and even Lucy was pulled into it! And now a confused Aspen was running around pathetically, her siren-of-a-voice ringing through everyone's ears. Mira had decided that enough was enough. She turned to face her Master with determination.<p>

"Master! You must put a stop to all this fighting! It is getting out of hand!" Sure, Mirajane could understand the occasional tussles, as that was what Fairy Tail was known for, but at this rate people could get seriously injured.

The old man sighed, standing up and stretching his aching muscles.

"Alright, alright." A small, golden orb suddenly formed in his hand and grew to the size of a basketball.

"This should be enough to give those kids a good settling down. There's no way they'll be able to fight after this. "And, with all the ease in the world, Makarov threw the ball towards the group and watched to see who would get hit first.

* * *

><p>As Makarov began to stand up and randomly started stretching, I saw that Natsu, Nightmare, and Lucy rose, as well. They looked like they had gone through war, and in such a short time, too!<p>

Lucy's blonde hair had been disheveled and stuck in every direction on her head. Dirt, dust and all sorts of guild-like filth covered her body and clothes. I winced- she would _not_ be happy about that later.

Natsu and Nightmare were in the same condition, only with more blood, scratches and bruises. Poor Nightmare had a black eye, and Natsu had a split lip! I silently cursed the pink idiot- he got what he deserved.

They each panted heavily, their bodies sagging downward in exhaustion.

"I'm...not...done...yet..." Natsu breathed. Nightmare only returned a forever stony glare, saying nothing.

I opened my mouth to finally set the damn Dragon Slayer straight, until a bright, growing light caught my eye. We each whipped our heads around, only to see a huge orb coming directly at us.

Natsu, Lucy, and Nightmare each easily ducked and allowed the sphere to pass right over their heads- but I didn't have such reflexes.

I squawked as the light consumed me entirely, and my body was submitted to a horrible pain which made me go numb everywhere. I felt my sense of mind fade, and I allowed myself to sink into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Makarov raised his eyebrows and Mirajane cried out as three of the teens skillfully dodged the blast- leaving the not-so-skilled teen in the back to be hit by Makarov's attack. It was a full-on KO as Aspen's small, freshly charred body fell backwards, hitting the floor with a 'bang'.<p>

"...Whoops! I guess I missed!" It was silent until the guild master sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

As Lucy squeaked and ran over to the toasted girl's aid, Natsu began to poke at her sleeping body, and Nightmare awkwardly stood off to the side in silence, Mirajane scolded her Master.

"Master! Shame on you, look what you've done!"

"Well, hey, they stopped fighting, didn't they? So I got the job done. Besides, that blast wasn't powerful at all, she'll be fine." Suddenly, the two heard anonymous chats accumulate from outside and turned to see various groups of guild members making their way through the large doors.

"Oh dear. It looks like people are finally beginning to come." Mirajane sent Makarov off to go do Guild Master-like things and began trotting over to care for Aspen.

Meanwhile, Lucy shook her fried friend with an unintentional violence in desperation to awake her, as an assurance of safety.

"Oh geez, Aspen! Wake up, wake up! What should we do, Nats- STOP POKING HER!" The pink haired boy scoffed at his friend, mentally shrugging her off.

"Fine, whatever. I'm gonna go find Happy." And so Natsu began to walk away from the burnt up girl, not really caring about her health as he knew she would be fine (she always is, isn't she?), but didn't forget to stop and talk to Nightmare.

"Listen, you," Natsu began, his voice producing somewhat of a growl. "Don't you think this is over. If I ever find out that you hurt Aspen, or any of my nakama, I will _burn you._"

They continued to stare each other down, Natsu with a violent glare, Nightmare with an empty gaze. Then, before the emotion-lacking boy could respond, Natsu let out a lighthearted laugh.

"But, anyway, welcome to the guild, Nightmare!" Natsu said, all negative feelings temporarily forgotten. And so the strange (somewhat bipolar, in Nightmare's opinion) boy ran off to find his sleeping feline friend. Nightmare blinked in surprise, not sure how else to react.

_That _was it? After all the fighting and angry thrown words and meaningful threats, Natsu was just _welcoming_ him into the guild? Sighing, he decided that he really shouldn't be surprised; that was Natsu for you, he guessed. Nightmare watched the vast amount of people flow into the large room like a river, and finally tired of just standing lonesomely in the corner, he took it upon himself to join Lucy and Mirajane, who were attempting to drag Aspen into the infirmary.

"Eugh...I had no idea Aspen was so _heavy! _If only Erza were here..." Lucy squeaked out. She was carefully holding Aspen by the arms and Mirajane took her legs, but they weren't getting much progress as her body only but hovered about the ground.

"Y-yes, she does weigh a bit more...then what I expected." Mira laughed. Suddenly, she felt the weight of Aspen leave her arms and looked to find Nightmare carrying Aspen with ease. He stared at Mirajane with an unknown emotion, but the blue-eyed girl was thankful, all the more.

"Thank you very much...Nightmare, was it?" She grimaced at the sight of blood and bruises coated along the boy, but he didn't appear to be in pain. Nightmare nodded, muttering, "Yes."

Lucy sighed with evident relief, slumping her shoulders in fatigue.

"Man...it's just barely morning and I'm already completely exhausted." She frowned, leaning against the wall. Her plan to get Aspen and Natsu to have a 'moment' did _not_ turn out how she expected, hell, it hardly even worked at all; Natsu didn't even apologize because he was too worked up with Nightmare! But, all the more, the sudden outburst of jealousy was living proof that Natsu held _some_ feelings for Aspen, whether he realized it or not.

With a content smile, Lucy informed she was going to go look for the rest of her team, and left Nightmare and Mira to themselves.

"Hm, it would be best if we took Aspen to the infirmary and patched her up. Follow me, please!" Mirajane cheerfully led the black haired man and his sleeping companion to the hospital room, the same one Aspen was put in when she arrived.

"Ah, here we go! Lay her right here, and I will handle the rest!" Nightmare gently set the brunette on the bed and Mira began scrambling at a roll of bandages.

As Mira began taping up Aspen's slight injuries, Nightmare decided he should leave. Just as he was about to reach for the handle-

"Oh, wait a minute!" Mirajane stopped mid-roll and turned her attention to the boy.

"Silly me, how could I forget? You said that you wanted to join the guild, didn't you?"

Nightmare widened his eyes slightly. Was Mirajane actually going to let him join, even after the trouble he caused? After all, she didn't even know if he were safe or not!

"...why would you let me join? You don't know if I'm an enemy or not...why would you trust me?"

The girl only smiled.

"If Aspen and Lucy trust you, then I trust you." She said. It was short, simple, and to the point, and sounded a lot like what Lucy had said earlier. Nightmare believed this whole 'trusting' thing to be somewhat foolish, but he couldn't help but be mystified that Mirajane was so nice to him. And not only her, but Aspen, too. He figured it was just a 'girl thing'.

"Besides, you don't look all that dangerous to me!" Mirajane giggled, but the words she said were layered with honesty. She was telling the truth, and that seemed to confuse Nightmare even more. Nonetheless, he was allowed to join the guild and that made him feel better; not exactly _glad_, but close to it. A rising hope had bubbled within him; maybe, just maybe, this world and these people would be able to bring back his emotions- and not just the negative ones. But for now, he could only wait and see.

* * *

><p>Mirajane instructed for Nightmare to wait until she finished wrapping up Aspen, and he patiently did so. He watched Mirajane as her dainty hands worked smoothly, at a pace that seemed to calm all of his nerves. He was fascinated by the sight; never in his life had he seen such a gentle, caring woman. No, he had only been subjected to his cruel, violent mother. But Nightmare shoved those thoughts away; he found thinking about Mirajane was much more pleasant.<p>

After Mirajane was done and Aspen had been taken care of, the two left her to her sleep and continued out to the guild. It was now overflowing with members- it looked like everyone was finally awake and there.

"Now then," Mira said, getting out the classic guild stamp. "What color and where?" It took a mere second for the boy to respond.

"Black; on my throat."

Nightmare expected Mira to be shocked by his choice; scared of it, even. But no, she actually shocked _him_ yet again as she carelessly smiled.

"Okay! Not a problem."

Nightmare hesitantly raised his chin, allowing access for Mira to gently press the stamp into his skin. After a moment's pause, it was done. A black Fairy Tail symbol dress Nightmare's throat.

"There we go! All done." Nightmare ran his fingers across his neck, but felt no trace of tattoo. It was now permanently etched into his skin; it was a part of him. He was a part of Fairy Tail, at last.

"So, Nightmare, what kind of wizard are you?" Nightmare froze at the question, caught off guard. But he soon came up with an answer, and coolly replied, "I use transformation magic."

It wasn't _really_ a lie. After all, it happened in his dreams, so that _technically_ counted.

….besides, it's not as if twisting the truth a bit would hurt, right?

Mirajane gasped, her face lighting up ever so happily.

"Really? Me too! What a coincidence!" She laughed. "No wonder you didn't use magic on Natsu. Transforming really can be quite exhausting."

Nightmare began to stare as Mira again; her conversations with him were so strange. He had never made someone smile before, never made someone laugh before; and yet her the girl was, happily indulging in a fit of giggles, because of him.

"Mmm...yes." He managed to keep his walls up, keep his icy demeanor straight-but he could tell that Fairy Tail was growing on him. He had the need to be able to trust people again. He so badly wanted to _feel _again, but a small voice in his head warned him. _He could still get hurt. _But as time would go on for Nightmare, he found that whenever he was around Mirajane and Aspen and his friends, that voice seemed fade more and more.

"If you don't mind me asking, Nightmare, how _did_ you and Aspen meet?" Another unexpected question came his way, it seemed. Nightmare gazed into Mira's blue eyes, taking full notice of how beautiful she was up close. He pondered on whether or not he should tell her anything-not the _exact_ story, of course, but a similar version.. The voice in the back of his head said no, but, as cheesy as it sounded, his heart said yes. _But since when did Nightmare have a heart? _Deciding to ignore that stubborn voice, Nightmare began thinking up a cover story. It wouldn't be hard to tell, of course- after all, Nightmare was an extravagant liar.

"Well...it began like this."

And so the two sat, as Mira happily listened to Nightmare's story, and they seemed to be stuck in their only little world.

* * *

><p>It was the second time I woke up in that dreary hospital room. But that time, I wasn't as freaked out or confused as the first. Only way more annoyed.<p>

I groaned, peeking my eyes open and wincing from the blinding lights. Giving a second go, I managed to fully look around. _So I'm _here_ again. Lovely._

I sourly recalled how a giant blast had hit me head on (I assumed it came from Makarov), and how that dumb Natsu attacked Nightmare again. I swore, that boy could be so damn impulsive, sometimes.

I noticed my arms were neatly wrapped in faded white bandages, a job done by Mirajane, I suspected. I wondered what time it was, how long I had been asleep, and where the hell Natsu was so I could crowbar his ass to hell.

I shimmied out of the blankets and dully noted that I was in my pajamas, still. I would have to fix that later.

I sneaked out of the infirmary, as it was in my best judgment not to make a scene in my current attire. Suddenly, my entire team was in my face, throwing a bunch of questions my way.

"Aspen! Lucy told us that you got knocked out this morning!"

"How the hell did you manage that? Just what exactly _happened_ while we were gone?"

"ASPEN! Why the hell are you still in your PJ's? You look horrible! There's no way I'll take this!"

"...erm, are you really okay?"

"Eek! Aspen, you poor thing! I knew it was a bad idea to leave you alone..."

I couldn't help but crack a smile at my team. It really did feel nice to be worried about.

"Guys, guys, I'm fine. Nothing to worry about, really!" I signaled for them all to follow me, and we comfortably huddled in a quiet corner of the guild.

"Why are we always in corners...?" I heard Lin murmur, but ignored him.

"Now, then, men. And women. What happened in the last something something hours is very complicated and I'd rather not relive it, to be honest, but the basic thing is: I found another real-worlder!"

"Seriously? Hooray! I'm not the newbie anymore~!" Felicity clapped her hands and squealed.

"More importantly, is it a boy or a girl?" Camden rolled his brown eyes.

"What, so you can go flirt with her?" Lily said, azure eyes gleaming mischievously.

"L-Lily! Don't be rude! Camden's hobbies are not your buis-WAHH! I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!" Lin squeaked as his best friend grabbed him by the shirt, glaring at him threateningly.

"_What was that?_"

"N-nothing! Nothing at all haha!" Lin began whistling innocently, schooching towards Forsythia for protection.

"Well, I have to admit, flirting with the new girl isn't something I'd hold against him." The bluenette laughed quietly. From the short amount of time that Forsythia knew him, Camden had tried flirting with many different girls-including her, but he somewhat backed off when she told him she was into girls more than guys.

"What can I say? I'm a flirting extraordinaire." The blonde boy smirked proudly.

Felicity's eyes sparked with jealousy, her cheeks going aflame.

"...W-well. Hmph. I-I guess...I will have to have a chat with this new girl." She whispered, a devious plan already forming in her head.

I shuddered; definite Juvia Jr., right there.

"Er, it's not even a girl. It's a guy." I sweat dropped, getting the need to facepalm at my team's reactions. _This sure is an interesting group of teammates I got..._

And, speak of the devil, at that moment Nightmare came strolling our way with Mira in tow.

"N-Nighty! You're here!" I cried happily, hugging him teddy bear-style.

"Thank God you're okay! I was so worried that idiot had-"

"Whoa whoa whoa. _This _is the new guy?" Camden asked, judgmentally scanning his eyes over Nightmare, whom I noticed had a newly acquired black tattoo on his throat. _Mmm, he's finally a part of Fairy Tail. That's good news._

"HE'S SO CUTE!" Felicity and Forsythia squealed, tossing me to the side and giving the statue-like Nightmare bear-hugs of their own. Mirajane laughed slightly.

"H-he's like a teddy bear...!" Forsythia whispered, a blush painted across her face. Felicity giggled like a fangirl in agreement.

"I know, right?" I said, happy that I wasn't alone on that one. I looked at Lily expectantly, but she only scoffed at our immature behavior.

"Guys, this is Nightmare." I introduced him as soon as the two girls removed themselves. I frowned a bit; Nighty wouldn't get that dang 'I'm emotionally dead' look off his face. How was he ever supposed to make a good first impression like that? Sighing, I knew his stoic personality would need to be worked on; with time, of course.

"So, Aspen, Nightmare finally told me how you guys met." Mirajane told me. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. _He did _what_?_

"I feel silly for not knowing you guys were friends. You guys met on a recent mission, isn't that right?" I looked at Nightmare with shock. He calmly returned the gaze, a bit of pride beaming from him. _Damn, this boy is way more clever than I thought._

"Uh, yeah! That's right. Friends. We met a while ago, haha!" I smiled.

"O-of course, not _too_ long ago, seeing that Aspen _lost her memory. _Right, Nightmare, guys?" The ever brilliant Forsythia added in. My team and I nodded frantically, and Nightmare seemed to catch on, thank God.

"Yes. That's right."

Pulling my team away, I waved goodbye to Mirajane.

"Uh, we should probably go now, Mirajane! Get settled in, and whatnot! Bye, see ya later!" The white-haired bar girl returned the wave as I dragged the seven of Team Bitchin' out the guild doors and making our way towards the Dorms.

* * *

><p>"And that is basically what happened. Got it?" Lily finished, putting her hands on her hips. I had ordered my team to tell Nighty the entire story on the way to the dorms, the mysterious orb lady, the mission and all. I was rather impressed that they had managed to tell the whole thing in a matter of minutes. What could I say, the kids worked fast.<p>

Nightmare put a pale hand on his chin in thought. It was probably a lot to take in, I sure as hell knew it was for me.

"So, did you get a glimpse of that white chick?" Camden asked. So far he had been the only one out of us to see her supposedly 'human' form.

"No," Nightmare shook his head. "I didn't. However, I do recall seeing a bright, white light suck me into my manga book..."

"That must have been her," Felicity snapped her fingers. "There's no other explanation! Oh, when we finally get our hands on her, I'll smash that little bug into the ground!"

"Hm, maybe she knows something about the whereabouts of my mother!" Forsythia said quietly.

"All I know is she and I are going to have a _serious chat_ when she shows herself." Lily muttered, a dark, black aura emanating from her body.

"Eeeh...let's just stay calm everyone..." Lin mused.

I chuckled. Seemed like we all had a little fight to pick with the glowing girl.

"Here we are." I said, motioning towards the paths that led to the girl dormitory and boy dormitory.

"Camden, Lin, I want you to take Nightmare and set him up in your room." I got a happy nod from Lin, a blank stare from Nighty, and an outraged hiss from Camden.

"You have got to be kidding. Please tell me you're kidding," Camden told me exasperatedly. "Aspen, there's just no way we can put him in there. We just-"

"CAMDEN," I growled. "Make. It. Work." I nodded my head towards the girl dorm and physically told my female teammates to follow.

"C'mon, girls, let's go. I feel like-"

"Gossiping?" Felicity asked hopefully.

"Erm...not what I had in mind but sure, why not."

And so us girl-guild members left the boys awestruck on the path to fend for themselves for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>"Damn that Aspen..." Camden whispered harshly as he pushed the new bed to the wall. Because Nightmare had no bed to sleep in, Camden and Lin were forced to go buy a bed for the man and then carried it all the way back to the dorm. He tried using his magician skills to just make it 'disappear' to the room, but Lin refused to let him, as it could have gone<em>anywhere. <em>And so they spent the whole day heaving the bed to their bedroom.

"And there's fifteen thousand jewel down the drain..." Lin said sadly, coining around a purple bad of what little jewel he had left. He had to remind Aspen to send the team on a mission, soon.

"Thank you both." Nightmare politely stated, although his voice held little to no sincerity. Camden sighed, rolling his eyes. On top of all that, now there was one more guy to add into their, 'Circle o' Gays' group.

"W-well, what should we do now?" Lin cooed. "It's only five o' clock."

As Nightmare silently sat on his bed, looking out the window in a creepy way, Camden sighed.

"Well, how about this..."

* * *

><p>"S-so close..."<p>

"We're almost there! Just a little bit more, Lin!"

"I-I don't think I can make it-!"

"Yes, Lin! You can! I believe in you!"

"A-ah...! THERE!"

Both Lin and Camden collapsed, exhausted with sweat running down their faces.

...and no, what you are reading is _not_ a yaoi scene, you pervert.

In front of them lay a house of cards that nearly touched the ceiling, coming from a deck that Camden had made appear. It was quite beautiful, really; every crisp card perfectly placed on top of the other, like a puzzle. They were quite proud of their achievement.

"Thank God..." Camden breathed. "That took _forever._"

"Y-yeah," Lin agreed, laughing shakily. "If it fell down, I don't know what I'd do."

Then, suddenly, a white blur flashed right over the giant castle, and the house was immediately crushed and annihilated by an unknown figure.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Lin and Camden screamed, synchronized. They fell to the floor in despair, and Nightmare curiously peeked out from his covers to see what was the matter.

There, laying on top of the flattened cards, was a boy with unruly black hair, bright blue eyes, and framed glasses that lay crooked on his nose. On his face was a goofy expression, a mixture of a smile and a shocked look, his eyes out of focus with confusion.

"EH?"


	30. Jack

Jack belongs to ArchShadow24. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p>~Earth~<p>

On the far end of the street West Amber Way in the city of Renton sat a quaint, larger than average, rectangle house. The house was colored gentle beige, majestic mahogany and simple white. Anyone could tell by the decor that the owners of the home were wealthy, and had exquisitely good taste, too.

Peeking inside the house, the whimsical humming of a teenage boy could be heard as it flowed throughout the hallways, and the smell of artificial chicken flavoring lingered about the household. Dim, white toned lamps that hung from the pasty ceiling were the only sources of light throughout most of the house.

In the kitchen was a boy, a soup spoon in his hand, a book in the other. The attention of his blue eyes wavered from the text in the novel to the status of his cooking chicken ramen. He hummed an unknown tune as we patiently awaited it's finish.

His name was Jack Stone. Aged seventeen and a half, he liked reading, the color purple, and kittens. He was an all A student at his private school, had a successful business executive for a mother, and spent his free time writing miniscule poems at home. You wouldn't figure it, but he was about to become a very big part in a story of histories—Aspen's story.

It was Saturday evening, so obviously he had no school to attend to. He had dedicated his night fully to making a cheap noodle dinner to consume the time he unavoidably needed to waste. His mother was out on yet another business trip, as always, and he had no father to speak of, so he was completely home alone.

Pushing his rectangled framed glasses up, he looked around at the empty space that surrounded him. He had to admit, it was somewhat lonely in there.

Suddenly, the ding of a timer knocked Jack out of his little trance. He jumped up and cried out happily. His ramen was done! Score!

He set his book down, folding the corner of the page for later. Hastily, Jack grabbed a bowl and proceeded to create his dinner.

He plopped himself down onto a leather sofa and began to feast on the underpriced noodles, devouring them savagely.

Meanwhile, in a small, dusty, shadowed cranny of Jack's living room, a peculiar sprite floated about anxiously. Although I think we both know that this little fairy was more than just a ball of white light.

The female orb eyed the young boy eagerly, like a predator ready to maul its prey. With every wet slurp of noodles was a sharp shudder that zig-zagged up her mental spine of sanity. She swore, if this kid didn't hurry the hell up, she was going to lose it. He was the last one on her list, for goodness sake, she just wanted to get the job done and go home and _relax—_was that too much to ask?!

Besides her own personal desires, she knew that time was short as it was. There was no time to be dilly dallying around. All eight of the snot nosed brats need to be in Fairy Tail territory as soon as possible. This boy taking his sweet time laying around did NOT help the cause! He was just lucky she had enough manners to wait until he finished his supper to transport him.

* * *

><p>As Jack finished up his meal, he pondered on what to do next. Surely he wouldn't just sit there in the artificial light, waiting for excitement to arise.<p>

He was tempted to whip out one of his many Fairy Tail mangas, and squeal fanboyishly at the subtle hints of GaLe that Mashima gives out every so often, but he instead he decided he would go for a late night walk. He already went for an afternoon run, but screw it, he could use the exercise.

Pulling on his black running shoes, he pushed the sleeves of his dark purple shirt to his elbow and began to make his way out the door.

He closed his eyes, appreciating the crisp evening wind that blew about him. The sky had been doused with black, the sun long gone from its position in the sky.

Not exactly the safest time to go out for a casual stroll, but hey, Jack could handle himself. Somewhat. Sure, he was not the strongest guy. Okay, he was not that strong at all, being a light 140 pounds. But his resilience and speed more than made up for it. So if it came to it, he could always flight over fight.

He walked along the sidewalk, taking note he was the only person in sight. It was slightly creepy, really. Sure, it was night time and he hadn't really expected to see someone he was familiar with, but sheesh, this was nearly as bad as that empty ol' house.

_It's been empty pretty often lately..._

Jack sighed and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dark blue jeans, protecting them from the night chill. Whispy huffs of clouded breath produced each time he exhaled, and goosebumps trickled up and down the length of his arms.

Perhaps taking a night walk was not the best idea, after all.

"Damn it, Ethan! Just give me the money! I seriously need a joint right now..."

Jack perked up, pushing his glasses up the bridge if his nose slightly. Who was...

"B-but Nick...I've been saving up for a new phone, remember? And weed isn't exactly cheap...why don't you use your own money?"

Leaning on a lamp post was a boy, looking Jack's age or younger, shying away from the boy directly across from him, a large, muscular blonde who wore several bruises and cuts. Neither looked very happy. A chipped, raggedy truck was parked to the side of them.

The larger boy, presumably Nick, got into Ethan's face, shoving his shoulder and knocking him around. "I don't have any left! Just...listen, bro, I've had enough shit to deal with today. Hand over the money and we'll be cool."

Droplets of sweat beaded Ethan's head, and he twiddled his thumbs nervously. "No. I can't do that, Nick! And you know-"

This time, Nick shoved Ethan more roughly, knocking him to the cement. He kicked his side, earning a short yowl of pain from the boy.

"Give it to me, damn it!"

"I can't! I'm sorry! P-please stop—ow!"

Jack frowned, narrowing his eyes. These boys looked very scummy, and he'd prefer not to associate himself with either of them, but he couldn't sit back and watch as one of them was bullied right in front of him. Nick was obviously a lot larger than he, but that wasn't holding him back whatsoever. He slyly shuffled over, tapping the blonde behind the shoulder.

Bottle green eyes burned holes into Jack, causing him to smile unsurely. "Ah, hello! I couldn't help but notice that you're beating up on this boy."

His cobalt irises wandered over to the moaning boy that lay on the ground. Nick turned to look over his shoulder and shrugged, flipping his hair. "Yeah, and? What the hell do you care, anyway? Just move along, skimpy, go run home to mommy."

Jack raised an eyebrow. He was fairly sure he was older than the both of these two. He was actually quite tall, too! Six feet! Tch, this boy was grating on his nerves, already.

"Eh, well, I'm afraid I can't just let you hurt him. I'll kindly ask you to step away from the boy!"

Nick looked at Jack, speechless for a short moment. He then, reluctantly, turned away from Ethan and turned his sole attention onto Jack. Jack nudged up his glasses nervously.

Nick eyes Jack up and down, taking in his outfit, stance, and all. Then, he spoke, "I don't like your attitude, kid. It's pissing me off. I have an idea. Why don't I vent all of my anger on your nerd-self!"

Jack chuckled nervously, backstepping away from the large, muscled teen. Ooh, boy, this wasn't good. But at least he managed to get him away from Ethan, right? That's what mattered.

"Come here!" Nick swung a fist towards Jack, and it neared his face before he got the chance to blink. Taking a breath, Jack keenly dodged out of the way and prepared himself for another hook.

* * *

><p>Orb-lady zoomed down the barren streets, shrieking mentally with panic flying off the fucking charts. <em>WHERE THE HOLY HELL DID THAT LITTLE BRAT GO?!<em>

She had her eye on him, she knew she did for a fact, but she temporarily was distracted with a pretty pink nail polish bottle that lay on a nearby table. As she observed its lovely sparkle, she looked up and the next thing she knew the boy had scampered off somewhere. Now she was running, no, _flying_ like the wind in search for him.

_Oh my God if I lost him I am so screwed! Uncle will kill me!_

But he could be anywhere! ANYWHERE! She hadn't been to many parts of Earth, hell, hardly ANY of Earth, but she knew it was a huge place! And considering she was still brand new to these strange roads and so called 'neighborhoods', she would get lost with the snap of a finger. And her magic had nearly run dry...she only had enough for one more transportation...  
>"Achk! Just stay still, you fucking twig!" Orb-lady glowed, perking her interest to the nearby roar. She stared, awestruck, on two teenage boys that fought on the road, one of them a large blonde who was throwing punches, the other was Jack, who carelessly dodged each one.<p>

_Wha—WHAT DOES HE THINK HE IS DOING?! ARGH, I WILL KILL HIM!_

Nick huffed, trying to land a SINGLE hit on the black-haired boy, but to no success. He was a quick one, that's for sure.

"Haha, can't catch me! Given up yet, blondie?" Jack teased, a smile playing on his lips. He shifted on his feet lightly, falling back out of range from another sloppy throw. This was growing old.

"You fuckin' punk! I'll...huff...I'll kill you!"

Being the stubborn bastard he was, he prepared to send another hook Jack's way. But then, a body barricaded itself between them.

It was white, and slightly translucent. It had curves of its own, and formed the shape of a body that of an attractive young woman. The body, or person, rather, cocked a hip out, tapping her left foot angrily.

"Hey! You! What in the world do you think you are doing?" Her voice seethed, and it was clearly directed at Jack. He dropped his fighting stance and looked at her, bemused.

"Ehhh?"

"Argh! You're the last of them, you know! I don't have time for this! You're comin' with me."

Without letting him speak a word, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, yanking him forward and they both disappeared in a slurry, white blast.

Nick was left alone, shot away by the explosion. He gawked at the street where two people had stood but seconds ago.

They were gone.

* * *

><p>Jack felt his body twist and turn out of shape, and his mind churned and swirled as he was sent through some timeless, blank portal of confusion. He felt his stomach fall and his heart race as he soared downwards, and felt his body crashed into what felt like many, many...cards. He heard gasps of horror erupt from around him, and looked up to see that he wasn't quite in Reton anymore.<p>

"EH?"


	31. And Thus, We Were Entire

Hi, everyone! I know it's been some time since an update, and I always have many excuses, but I decided to push myself for several reasons-I haven't updated in months, it is my birthday today, and it's been (a bit more than) a year since this story was made! It's progressed and improved so much, and I'd like to thank all my readers, old and new, for dealing with my writing shenanigans!

Truthfully, I had written this chapter a while ago, but thought the plot was jumbled and discarded it. This is the new, slightly less confusing, and slightly shorter version! Now since I was a bit of a rush to finish, I feel it's rushed and sloppy, so I'll most likely be back to revise. (In case you haven't noticed, I did some extreme editing jobs to some previous chapters. Still working on it, though.)

Thanks so much for reading!

* * *

><p>A thick, unsettling silence caked itself between the four as they stared each other down. Or rather, as Camden, Lin and Nightmare stared down the single boy.<p>

After minutes of no speaking or movement in the slightest, Lin decided he would break it casually.

"Hi, I'm Lin Mu! Who're you? Where are you from?" He asked cheerfully, a friendly smile planted on his face. Camden deadpanned at the boy's welcoming nature.

But the man in question only cocked his head and adjusted his glasses to their correct place. "Uh, I'm Jack! And I'm from Reton..." His voice droned off, his eyes scanning the perimeter precisely. Something was definitely off. Rather than the bulged, 3-D figures and shapes that had always been, the world appeared as a flat, texture-less cartoon. Or, in this case, anime.

His eyes then shifted to the two boys in front of him, a blonde of whom he was not introduced, and Lin, a big eyed, black-haired boy. Both appearing to be anime characters, but as far as he could tell he didn't recognize them from any animes or mangas. He blinked once more, processing all this.

...was he high?

Had that white woman sneaked some sorta drug on him while he was flying through that...thing? Oh hell, he didn't want that shit in his system! She's just lucky he didn't break his glasses during the fall, otherwise some major ass kicking would have proceeded.

But anyway, he needed to focus on the current situation! Focus, focus, focus!

...oh, but everything looked so weird but strangely beautiful and there was a dragon shaped stain on the ceiling he wanted to observe and oh how he was urged to reach out and just PET everything!

No! Figure things out first, pet later!

Removing his body from the now pancake-flat castle of playing cards, Jack squabbled on the floor and poked his face into Lin's.

"You, Lin, do you mind telling me what's going on? I'm a bit lost..."

Lin and Camden chuckled lightly at each other, assuming the situation.

"Another one, huh. Now we have to explain this all over again..." Camden made himself comfortable on the floor, patting the space next to him, signaling for Lin to take a seat. He glanced at New Boy for a millisecond, expecting him to do the same.

Jack was most certainly befuddled, but nonetheless he played along. Just what's going on here?

"Well, here we go. I'm Camden, by the way," he jerked his head back towards the dark, shadowy figure that remained resident in the corner. "And that guy is Nightmare. It's best to ignore him for the time being."

Jack nodded, preparing a mental pen and notebook to take mental notes.

"Now, where do I begin..." Camden mumbled thoughtfully. Lin decided to take the lead, raising a hand and gesturing to all surroundings.

"All of this," he started, his voice uncharacteristically holding a suspenseful, serious tone. "Began with one girl."

Camden joined in as they muttered the wicked name of said founder of this pandemonium.

"Aspen Kosub."

* * *

><p>Orb-lady dragged herself throughout the underground territory, slumping her body as she rubbed her sleep-deprived eyes.<p>

She was completely worn out from all that traveling, and her magic had been sucked dry from it. It'd most likely take a while for her to get back to her teleporting again.

With her magic out, her disguise was gone as well, but the again she had nothing to hide from there in the tunnels.

A mop of sausage-like curls fell to her hefty breasts, glows of light shining from its ivory coloring, despite there being no sunlight in the dark surrounding.

Her skin was creamy mocha, a strange contrast to the rest of her bright features. Her irises were colored a dark gold, and she held an eerie stare wherever she went. Her lips were coated in blood-red lipstick. On her forehead was a single, diamond shaped jewel that was clear of color.

Orb-lady approached a steel keypad, and she numbly punched in the code, thereby causing the large pair of doors to swing open. Peering into the room, she saw what she always did when entering that room: her favorite uncle, perched upon that patio of his, sipping a glass of maple syrup and smoking a cigar.

"Autumn! You've come back," the old man burst, surprisingly upbeat for an elder. "Status report!"

Orb-lady, or Autumn, rolled her eyes, mimicking him under her breath.

"Autumn! Status report on your homework! Autumn, status report on those cookies! Autumn, status report on blah blah blah."

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. They have all been transferred, safe and sound."

Her uncle's eyes shined over with relief, and he let out a hearty laugh.

"Ha! Ahahaha! It worked! You really did it, Autumn!" He ran down the cool, smooth steps, taking his only niece captive in a loving embrace. She squirmed, her hair and eyes turning slightly red.

"Goodness, Uncle Jamnis, calm down, why don't you! You'll bust a hip. Now we don't want that, do we?" She pressed him to sit down, pulling up a sturdy mahogany chair for him. Ah, mahogany. He reluctantly took a seat and sighed happily.

"I knew you could do it, Autumn, I just knew it! Ehehehe!" He slurped the thick syrup in his cup he was still holding, while his burning cigar lay nestled in the corner of his thin lips.

Autumn was full-blown red now, and she smiled bashfully. "It wasn't anything, Jamnis. Truly, I have never had an easier task!"

Images of Aspen falling off the roof, Autumn's desperate attempt to make a portal in time to catch her, Jack disappearing from her sight, and her getting lost countless times in the streets of Reton popped into mind.

Yes. Easy. Right.

"But where is Jesper?" Autumn searched around, but the purpette did not reach her view.

"Up here."

At the sound of Jesper's trickling voice, Autumn peered towards the ceiling, where Jesper was casually lounging on his self-spawned energy device that kept him airborne. Autumn glared at him, clearly not amused by his little trick. "Jesper, what are you doing up there?! Stop being an imbecile and get down!"

He scoffed, shooing her opinion away without a second thought. "Why? The view is quite nice up here, Miss Fall. Really, you should see it, I even have the ability to look down your shirt."

"JESPER!"

"Yes, Miss Fall?"

As if she weren't red enough, Autumn looked like she was aflame. Jesper simply chuckled at her flustering.

Jesper had been brought in by Jamnis over a month ago, taking him in as an assistant for their plans, of sorts. He had a magic like Jamnis had never seen. It was probably a lost magic, which all the more made him right for the job. Naturally, as Jamnis' only relative and the only person he hung around those days, Autumn had no other choice but to become acquainted with the troublesome wizard. It wasn't long before she fell for his charming persona, and now they were, more or less, an item.

Which reminded Autumn of that absolutely scrumptious boy, Camden, who was one of the eight she had to take there, to Earthland. She rightfully decided she wouldn't tell Jesper much about him.

"Now now, both of you frisky critters settle down. We need to speak business." Jamnis signaled Jesper down, and he swiftly jumped to Autumn's side, giving Jamnis his full attention. Autumn did, as well.

"Good, now that you're both serious and ready," Jamnis swirled his cup of maple syrup, churning it around slowly in thought. "It's high time that we discuss the status of our plans." And so, the three engaged in a hushed conversation of dire importance.

* * *

><p>"What the hell." I silently questioned how I got to be in the current situation. There I stood, scarcely clothed and towel in hand, with an audience of at least half a dozen naked woman having a jolly old-time before me. On my side stood Felicity and Lily, who were most likely wondering the same thing.<p>

"Come on in, girls! We don't bite!" Forsythia smiled, peering up at us as she swam about in the large bath. Felice gulped, intimidated beyond words at the vast amount of large, perfectly shaped breasts that stared at her. "Uh...is this necessary? Can't we wait until later?"

I rubbed my face, shielding my view of the nude women. I was lucky enough to last this long using the sink as a make-shift cleansing tool, but I had to bathe sometime. And the dorm's bath was the only place to do it. Unfortunately, it was almost always filled with the other dormers. Naked, naked dormers.

"Not really," I lifted an arm, sniffing and then frowning. My hygiene couldn't last any longer. "There's nowhere else to go. Our rooms don't come with baths or showers. And I can't wait. I've avoided this place ever since I came here."

"Yes, I can see why," Lily nodded understandingly, distaste and uneasiness about her. "It's as if we're in some...real life ecchi manga."

You could practically _hear_ the feminine body parts jiggle as they bounced throughout the air. Lily was right. We were surrounded by ecchi.

As she sudded her ruby hair in a curtain of bubbles, Erza warmly welcomed us to join. "The water feels so nice. Hurry in, before it gets cold, girls." She had a point. And I was not up for taking a cold bath.

Looking down at my body, I immediately felt hideous in comparison to the bodies around me. I was still working on my weight, after all... "Well, to hell with it. You only live once." I peeled off my clothes, proudly flashing my flesh to the world. Even if it paled next to the others, my body was out and about.

Felicity and Lily stared at me in awed betrayal as I launched my self into the water, splashing the giggling females around me. "Yay, Pen-Pen!" Levi sung, using my nickname she had created shortly after we were introduced a while ago. I grabbed a bucket of water and some soap and proceeded to cleanse myself, ridding the dirt and residue from my skin.

"Aspen, why?!" Felicity screamed after me, falling to her knees in despair. Lily sunk her head low in mourning silence for their dignities that were soon to fall. If I went in, then they had to get in, as well.

Slowly shimmying out of her shirt, pants, and undergarments, Felicity immediately threw her arms under her armpits, concealing her pitifully flat chest from the judgmental eyes in the room. Lily ripped off her clothes in seconds and blushed madly, the blood pooling to her pale face."This is just ridiculous.." she muttered bitterly.

They wearily strayed over the edge, awkwardly positioned and unsure of the situation.

Before they even got a chance to dip in a toe, I emerged from the water and pulled on their ankles, letting them fall in. My face was modestly blank with no guilt to speak of. "There, now we're all in," I said, handing them bars of petal-colored soap and a scrub brush. "Now get to business."

"EEEE! STOP IT, JUVIA! I ONLY SAID HE WAS HOT!" Felicity sprung through the weaves of girls, tripping occasionally but keeping up the pace. A crazed-stricken Juvia followed after her, blades of water equipped and ready to kill.

"YOU DO NOT SPEAK ABOUT GRAY IN SUCH A WAY! LOVE RIVALLLLLLL!"

Lily admired her fingernails, twirling a lock of black hair, her eyes hardly catching the scene at hand. "And, technically, he isn't hot. He's cold."

"DOES IT REALLY MATTE-" Felicity came to a halt as she slammed face first into the pearled marble wall. Her thin body slithered to the floor.

I smiled to myself, content to see that my friends were getting along well. Stepping out from the pool and wrapping a towel around my body, I grabbed my clump of clothing and crowbar and made my way towards the exit.

"Well, that sure was relaxing! See you all later."

"Uh, where are you going?" Lily pushed back the flop of wet hair that stuck to her face and peered at from the water.

"I'm off to your room, of course. Thanks for letting me borrow your bed, Lily!" I stuck out a hand in goodbye. Feeling a bit lazy, I didn't really feel the need to walk all the way back to the guild, especially since it was late out. I strolled out, the air conditioning absolutely nipping. Get it, nipping? Hahahaha. Hah. Oh man. That was good. Aspen, you're brilliant.

"What? I didn't approve of this! Aspen, get back here!" A voice shouted out to me, but I was already out the door.

* * *

><p>The dribbles of water had left my body and I was now dried to considerable perfection.<p>

I bounced along the hallways, Lily's dorm room being the destination. Felicity's bedroom was probably a better choice as we could have shared the bed easier, but the odor of her room was too much for me to handle.

Finally I came upon the shined, white oak door I had yet to become acquainted with. I placed a hand on the doorknob and it easily turned, as the girls in Fairy Hills never really bothered to keep their doors locked. Swinging it open, I breathed in the scent of crisp linen and felt the breeze of air conditioning. Lily's room was toned white all about, and kept as tidy as could be. I was impressed by how the silver wallpaper seemed to shimmer and shine every time light spilled through and struck it.

To the left of me was a tall bookshelf, with dozens of hard cover books crammed inside the rows. In the far left corner of the room was a small, lean bed, neatly made with milky sheets, a fluffed pillow laying on the top. A frosted window lay overhead, gold rays that hinted sunset lighting up the room. A nightstand stood at the edge of the bed, a large wardrobe somewhere beside that, and a working desk with books, papers, and utensils scatter about it, accompanied by swivel chair. Lastly, a hardy dresser, a long sofa, and a storage rack sat to the left. All in all, it was a nicely made room, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

I quickly discarded my crowbar onto the desk and slipped into my clothing. It was surprisingly early for me to be going to sleep, but for whatever reason I had an overwhelming urge to rest.

I slid myself into Lily's bed, figuring she could just take to the couch. It took less than a minute for me to get comfortable as I let my body sink deeper and deeper into the sheets until I was comatose.

* * *

><p><em>I am me, and yet, I am not. <em>

Around me was dark. I think so, anyway. Everything was susceptible to being a result of the warping. Reality was no longer a factor. I couldn't trust anything.

I smiled. It wasn't a happy one; it was a sad, tragic smile, that said a hundred things, simply with a curve of the lips. It was a smile one gave when their last breath was to be arriving.

I knew my death was coming. I knew that I should have been satisfied, I had fulfilled my duty, hadn't I? I also knew that I shouldn't be afraid, for more awaited me after I passed—but even so, I feared the idea of losing my life, losing everyone I loved.

Then I remember, it was too late, they were already gone.

I looked at my hands. They were so pale. Nearly white. They began to turn translucent, like that of a ghost. I was fading, and closed my eyes, waiting for the last curtain to close.

_Nothing seems to be real, anymore._

* * *

><p>Air tunneled through my lungs violently as my eyes flickered open. I sat up, holding my head. What just happened? Was I dreaming?<p>

I tried to recall the content of the dream, but it was fading from me fast. The only thing I could focus on was the deep, undeniable sadness that ran through my blood, sending a slow, torturous chill up neck.

I looked around me. The room was illuminated by the moonlight that came from the night that had enveloped the world. I rubbed at my eyes. I was certainly not going back to sleep.

To the side of me was Lily, looking adorable while asleep on the couch. I felt a bit guilty for just stealing her bed and felt the need to take her to her own bed, but I didn't do anything to satiate it.

Sighing, I admired the ridiculously large anime moon that stared at me through the glass of the window.

_Well, since I can't sleep, I guess there's no point in staying here. I'll go back to the guild. Don't want to wake Lily._

Opening the door of her room as quietly as I could, I gently shut it behind me and brushed through the hallways, making my way outside.

I looked up at the guild unsurely. With the moon resting just behind it, it gave the entire building a strange, eerie, glow, like that of an eclipse. I gulped.

_No, no, it's fine. Stop being stupid. We don't need a repeat of what happened with Nightmare._

I placed my hand on the carved wood and gave it a shove, effectively opening the doors, in a fashion much more dramatically than I would have hoped. I didn't think about why it wasn't locked, when it should have. I was thick like that, which is why the next thing happened as it did.

An abrupt blackness swallowed me. It was like painting ink over my eyes.. I squinted, trying to identify the bits of furniture of the guild.

I felt about the wall, feeling for the light switch. When it caught my hand, I flipped it and light graced the room, and revealed the complete stranger that was mounted right in the center of the room. He laid on his back, his arms sprawled out, sleeping. Framed glasses sat by his head. His eyes began to flutter due to the unexpected change of setting.

A gasp let out of my mouth, and I began to freak out a bit.

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" I roared, defensively eyeing the unknown black-haired boy. I squabbled over to the boy furiously, but hesitantly.

That definitely woke him up. He sat up only to come face to face with the terrorizing Grudge monster that was me.

"AAHHHH!"

"AHGGGGGGGUUUHHRAGGHH!"

Summoning all of my body's strength, kicked him in the shin, even throwing in a dramatic, "KAPOW, BITCH!"

It seemed my efforts were in vain, however. He simply looked down at his leg as if a feather had brushed it.

As he looked at me and I looked at him and we made deep, full on eye-contact, the atmosphere evolved. I could hear soft jazz playing in the back, like "doo boo ba da babi doo" and the air got felt thick with romantic lust. I inched closer to his body and I could _feel _the sexual tension coursing through the gap

between us like hungry, horny, high fish in a small, tight spaced pond. I noticed his shirt had lifted up, and his lean stomach was effective in its appearance.

And for a moment, I decided to flirt with the idea that he wasn't some strange boy I had just met who had seen me naked. No, I decided to pretend he was a  
>completely different person.<p>

Now that I had a better look at him, he was pretty cute, with his startled little squinty, charcoal-dipped eyes and his perfectly rustled, blush colored hair. The scent of spices flowed through me, and I swore that the temperature emitting from his body rose greatly. I bet that if I had reached out, I could feel the ripples of a six-pack chest beneath my fingertips.

I let my eyes close and leaned in, puckering my lips, awaiting the welcomed feel of _his. _

_No, no, nope, don't do that, seriously, DON'T DO THAT ASP_

Instead, the smell of worn cloth and ramen hit my nose as a rough material simultaneously hit my face. The man has stood up, at that point, and I depressingly realized I only reached his chest in height as his shirt was in my face.

"Oh, oh, hey, are you okay?"

"Bshut...I shtot whe were 'posed shto kish...you were 'posed sho be..." I mumbled, slightly stunned, into the shirt. It seemed like my mumbles went unheard, though, as he remained speechless, so I backed up, getting better range so I could actually see his face. He had put on his glasses, I saw.

"Phew! You scared me a bit! I thought you were going to murder me or something!" He laughed, relieved, sliding his glasses up a notch. I groaned. Was that the vibe that when got from me when I wanted to kiss them? _Murderous?_ "So, I take it that you're Aspen?"

Realizing that the entire scene that had just before followed was probably one-sided, I gave it up and tried to compose myself, for the sake of the handsome stranger.

"...yeah. That's me. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahah ahahahahahahahahahahahahahah ahahahahahahahahahahahahahah ahahahaha. Ha," I grit my teeth from how stupid I was acting. This was worse than when I first met Fairy Tail! _Maybe it's just because I'm shy around new people...? Yes, that's it, of course._It would take me a long time to realize that it wasn't new people who were my weakness.

It was cute boys.

"I'm, uh, sorry for kicking you. And, well, you know, scaring you, all of that."

"Oh, no, don't apologize! It's no sweat! Haha!"

We could both clearly see by the way he held himself that it was, indeed, a complete and utter sweat.

"And...exactly who the hell are you?" I shifted about in my long purple hoodie, flapping the sleeves about questioningly and possibly threateningly.

"Oh, right! I forgot! My name's Jack Stone, and Lin sent me here!"

_...Lin?_

LIN DID THIS?!

_That demonic bastard! He set me up, didn't he?! DIDN'T HE._

I ughed and felt like slamming my head into the wall until bleeding and possible brain damage arose. Why did these types of things always happen to me. Why were there always hot boys showing up from nowhere to scare the hell out of me.

I stayed silent to his words, mentally cursing and scolding and moaning and groaning. Jack just stared at me, with a mix of puzzlement and entertainment pasted on his face. Then, he smiled widely, chuckling.

"Lin told me that you would act like that. Camden, too. I guess I should have prepared myself more. I just didn't expect you to come so late at night."

My jaw fell a bit, then tightened. I stood up a bit taller.

"Exactly who _are _you, Jack? Explain to me!"

"Hm, well, I guess you could say I'm the final member of your team!" He grinned, white teeth staring at me. I lifted an eyebrow.

* * *

><p>"...'kay. So, this white woman told you you're last? Are you <em>sure?<em>"

"Yep. Heard it loud and clear."

I leaned against the guild's wall, fiddling with the fabric of my jacket. I admired the way it the purple threads were so clearly threaded. Or rather, drawn. Whatever you would call how things are made in this cartoon world. That's one of the things I have always loved of this world—the smallest and simplest details can be the most beautiful.

Jack had done a fair job explaining everything that needed to be explained to me. How he had been a victim by the white woman and transported here, successfully destroying Lin and Camden's card castle. How they had told him everything and sent him here for me to retrieve and handle him in the morning. Or, night, in this case.

_Sneaky little bastards..._I thought, fondly gazing at Jack's seemingly never-ending smile. This was bad. I was already growing attached to my new teammate.

I didn't know what to do with him, to be honest. There was hardly anywhere to sleep. _The others will be arriving in the morning. I'll have to introduce them to the girls. Maybe they'll have a clue for what to do with him._

I let Jack know of this plan, and he easily agreed to it.'That is just like you, girl, passing your problems onto your friends.'

_E-Epi?! It's been a while since I've heard from you! Where have you been?!_

'Oh, I've been here. The whole time. I just decide to stay quiet, sometimes. But that doesn't mean I haven't seen every thought of yours.'

_YOU READ MY THOUGHTS?!_

'Yes.'

_YOU CAN'T DO THAT MAN THAT'S WEIRD AND UNFAIR YOU CAN'T JUST WATCH FROM THE SHADOWS AND POP IN WHEN YOU PLEASE._

'Actually, I can. I have the ability to do whatever I please. Besides, I'm you, remember? Think of me as your intelligent side. There's a reason I'm scarcely present.'

_Are you calling me stupid?_

'No. I am merely implying that you lack intelligent thinking, most of the time.'

_You bitch! I will beat the hell out of you just you watch you stupid motherf_

"Aspen? You okay over there?"

I blinked, leaping out of my internal argument. "Oh, I'm fine. Just arguing with my other self, that's all."

"Oh. Well okay!"

He returned to shining his glasses, breathing on the lens and wiping them on his dark jeans. A light tune slipped through his lips, filling the would-be silence as we awaited nothing. I

I thought back to that weird moment he and I shared not too long from then.

Why had I tried to kiss him?

WHY HAD I TRIED TO KISS HIM, DAMN IT?!

That was seriously weird! I knew I had a special fondness for attractive men, but I had never lost control, like that, before. Maybe it was because I had replaced Jack with someone else? But who in the hell would I wanted to have—

'Calm down, before you burst a vein with all of this thinking.'

_Shut up, Epi. I hate you. All you do is insult me._

'While that is true, I think that I should get credit for not slapping you in the face like that Nick child did. If it were possible for me to slap, anyways.'

_COULD YOU NOT GO THROUGH MY MEMORIES. YOU...MEMORY HOE._

'You're painfully oblivious. Did you know that? No, of course you didn't, because you're so oblivious.'

_Uh...are we still talking about Nick and the memories or..._

'See? Oblivious. Goodness, without me you would be a disaster.'

_Well maybe if you were here more it'd help a bit!_

'Like I previously told you, I am here. You just do not know it.'

_Hmph. Whatever. For the record, I am going to trust nothing you say, ever. You're evil, you hear?! EVIL._

'That is not wise. You are going to need me in due time. I suggest you start trusting me a bit more, otherwise you will never reach your goal.'

_What? What goal? _

…_._

…

..

.

Silence. Of course. I slammed my head back into the wall a bit, my mind jumbled with endless confusion. _Damn you, Fairy Tail world... you've brought me so much confusion and wonder! Damn you!_

It felt as if the all mysteries and unknown figures and problems were beginning to bleed through and soak into me, poisoning me with the gift of Pandora's curiosity. How long would it take until I would succumb to its sweet toxin?

_Whoa. That was uncharacteristically poetic. This world is affecting me with its anime like ways._

I looked up at the guild's ceiling lights, and adored how they mimicked a sun, or the orb-lady, or the light of a microwave that was cooking bacon.

Drowsiness swam about me, suddenly. _Bacon...such a delicious and nutritious food... mm...get it my stomach...ahghjgadsacf...sleepy.._

Jack spoke to me, but I could not hear. Only a soft buzz filled my ears. My eyelids saw darkness and I felt my body fall, my weight being kidnapped by gravity.

I dulled off.

* * *

><p>Jack looked at Aspen, surprised at how quickly she knocked out. He smiled and adjusted himself. <em>I guess some more shut-eye wouldn't be so bad.<em>

So, trying to blur out the blinding lights of the guild, he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to rest peacefully. He had a lot more thinking and considering to do about all of this, but he could do that tomorrow. God knew he had more than enough time for things, now.

* * *

><p>In the morning, the rest of the guild found me sleeping with a new mystery man. Again. For whatever reason, no one bothered questioning us of where he came from. I think they were just growing used to the mysteriously appearing teenagers, so they stopped trying to make sense of it all.<p>

Thankfully, Natsu hadn't come early enough to see us and throw a fit, so Jack and I hurriedly woke up and erased the evidence so he wouldn't get the chance.

When my team arrived, the introductions began. First, a mildly irritated Lily stormed up to the two of us.

"Aspen! Where did you go! And why did—who is this?"

I laughed, deciding it would be better off to just change the subject. "Oh, this is the newest and last member of our team!"

Jack grinned goofily at Lily, who returned a strict but melting gaze.

"What is your name?" Her voice was more delicate than when she scolded me, like newly spooned honey being fed to baby kittens. Bad simile, but still.

"Jack! Jack Stone. And you're Lily, right?"

Her blue irises softened. She nodded her head and held out a hand. "Yes, and Lin has already told me and the others of your situation. So you don't need to do any more explaining today."

This raised Jack's eyebrows. They must have been in a tight-knit, these lot, he thought. Information got passed around at incredible speed.

"Oh, really? Great! I've been a bit tired out from all of this explaining anyways."

Then came the dearest Felicity.

She strolled up to Jack, entranced with his looks just as I had been. She blushed and smirked, protruding her body in an attempt at being flirtatious.

"Hello, you must be Jack! I'm Felicity. I think we're going to get along very well," Felicity cackled, eating the boy with her eyes.

Jack laughed nervously and leaned away from the devious teenager. I sighed.

"This is going to be a long day..."

Forsythia twirled her long, blue hair with her index finger. "Oh, yes! Lily told me that there would be someone new..."

I smiled at her shyness and urged her to converse more with him. Forsythia was always, I found, shy around new people. It was quite adorable, actually. But I was confident in befriending them, because little did Forsythia know, she would be bunking with Jack.

Lin and I had already discussed it that morning. After thinking about it, he told me it couldn't be Felicity, since she would most likely molest him, and it couldn't be Lily, since Lin refused to allow it, and it couldn't be the boys or I. That meant the only compatible person was Forsythia. I just hoped that she'd be comfortable with it.

* * *

><p><em><em>I snuck off from where Jack, Lily, and Felicity were talking.<em>_

_"Lin! There you are!" I stomped over to Lin, where Camden and and Nighty also were.  
><em>

_Lin giggled nervously. "Oh, hello, Aspen, how are you today?"_

_"I should kill you! How come you always make _me _handle the new people?! I always end up humiliating myself! I have a reputation to hold up, damn it!"_

_"A-ah, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"_

_Nightmare peered at me with what you could hardly call curiosity. "Aspen. Did he harm you at all?"_

_I smiled. At least someone cared about my well being. I could always count on my darling Nightmare._

_"No, he didn't, Nighty. I'm fine!"_

_Camden snickered. "Nightmare isn't very fond of Jack."_

_I sighed, looking at them all in reprimanding._

_"Hey, now, we're all a team here. That means we've got to get along with each other. So no fighting, got it?"_

_"Yeah, sure."_

_"O-okay.."_

_"Yes."_

_I swayed happily. "Good! Now, then, Lin. What am I supposed to do with Jack? Is there any place for him to stay?"_

_Lin straightened himself out and got into thinking mode. "Well, he definitely cannot stay with us. There is no room. And I don't like the idea of him with Felicity..."_

_We all nodded. We could agree on that, at least._

_"What about Lily? Couldn't she bunk with Jack?" Camden asked. "She's mature enough to handle him, I bet."_

_Lin suddenly shook his hands about frantically. "No! No no no! Not Lily!"_

_"Why not?"_

_"Well, because..uh...eh..."_

_I smiled knowingly. "Well, if not Lily, or Felicity, or you guys...how about Forsythia?"_

_Lin glowed with approval. "Yes! Perfect! Felicity does have the biggest room of us, after all, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind bunking with him, right?"_

_"Hopefully."_

_I nodded, determined. "Alright, then it's settled. I'll convince Forsythia to let Jack room with her. It'll be easy."_

* * *

><p>Soon, Jack and Forsythia were quite acquainted with each other.<p>

"So, you come from the same town as the others?"

"I guess so. I've never met any of them, so I wouldn't have guessed we are all from the same place."

I cut into the conversation smoothly. "So! Are you two finally friends?"

Forsythia blushed at my bluntness, but nodded. Jack grinned at me, silently confirming.

"Good, good. Well in that case, Forsythia, Jack is going to be bunking with you! Yeah!" I enthusiastically pat her on the shoulder. She stared at me, her mouth open in sudden shock. Jack raised his eyebrows, and then laughed nervously, pushing up his glasses.

"Uh, Aspen..."

I simply waved him off. "Oh, it's fine, you two. I trust you kids not to get too dirty with each other. You'll be alright!"

They reached after me, still wanting to complain and argue, but I had an announcement to make.

I gathered my team 'round, as usual, and I started the Bitchin' assembly.

"Now then, Bitchin's. As you all know, Jack is the last member of our team to be arriving. The orb-lady said so," I began. "And therefore, now that our team is really complete, a celebration should be in order, yeah?"

"Like what?" They all asked simultaneously, which creeped me out a bit, to be honest.

"I was thinking...we could go to the beach~!"


	32. 100th Review Special - Part One

I keep forgetting to answer all of your lovely reviews, so I'm going to try to catch up here.

**Blade-Tribal-Wolf: Thank you so much for all of your reviews! They're greatly appreciated! I can't tell you how glad I am you like this story! As for your comment on the action parts, I'm relieved to hear that I lived up to expectations! I used to _despise _writing action scenes, in fear that I would fail, but i guess I've done good! Anyways, thank you for all your comments, and I hope you like the new chapter!**

**animeweirdo125: I wouldn't say Aspen is black. I haven't really given much detailed thought to her ethnicity, to be honest, which is 5quite na2ughty of me If I had to randomly choose, she'd be a tanned Caucasian, with traces of Hispanic.  
><strong>

**As to all other reviewers, I love you all! Thank you so much for all of your comments, I read _every one _them. I apologize for not being to reply to them all, I have a tight schedule right now! But I hope you all love the new chapter!**

* * *

><p>I was leaning my head on the wall of the magic vehicle, sourly scrunching my features with each bump that overtook the car, sending all the passengers a few inches into the air. Unfortunately, this magic vehicle happened to be stuffed sideways with people, much to my dislike, so it made the ride all the more unpleasant. Plus, the fact that I had to sit directly next to the ill Natsu wasn't great, either.<p>

At first, it was just going to be my team and I going on this beach adventure. But apparently, the ever crafty Makarov caught ear of our plot and announced that it would be a day off, and that it was to the beach for whoever wanted to tag along. It went something like this...

"_I was thinking...we could go to the beach~!" I proudly said, beaming at the brilliance of my idea._

"_But we have a pool here. Why go to the trouble of going to an actual beach?" Forsythia quietly questioned. _

"_Well—"_

"_I don't know about a beach, Aspen, it's awful sandy and messy."_

"_That's true, but—" _

"_Aww, but Jack just got here! Shouldn't we show him around? Oooh, better yet, I'll personally take him on a tour!"_

"_No, Felicity, you are not going to—"_

_Suddenly, a strong voice boomed our conversation into disintegration. "The beach? Hmm, haven't been to the beach in ages...Listen up, Fairy Tail! Today, Aspen is going to take us all to the beach!" Makarov crossed his arms, finalizing his statement. The whole guild whooped in excitement. I barely had time to blink._

"_Wait what—"_

"_Woohoo! Hear that, Happy! Day off!" Natsu grinned, fist pumping the air. Lucy laughed joyfully, flipping her hair. _

"_Thank goodness for that! It's about time I got a day off..."_

"_Well, there's no getting out of it now. Looks like we're going to the beach." Lily brushed her bangs to the side nonchalantly. _

"_Yay! To the beach!" Jack and Lin cheered. I flexed my fingers, wondering how I could possibly get all of these people to the beach. _

And with that, nearly all of Fairy Tail was headed to the beach. Before we left, I made sure to grab Mirajane and Jack, and let him get his Fairy Tail guild tattoo. It was purple, and stamped onto his right fore arm. I happily noted that we were matching, excluding mine's upside down feature.

As I wasn't overly familiar with ways of transportation in Fiore, I randomly picked out groups of members and placed them together, with one person to drive them all in a magic vehicle towards our destination, Crooked Candle beach. According to Erza, whom I'd ran to for assistance, we could have easily gone to the beach beside Fairy Hills', this one was much more beautiful and spacious.

I wasn't sure as to how I got stuck with Erza, Natsu, Happy, Jack, and Forsythia, but sure enough, there we were, caked together in the tiny carriage-like heap of metal. The rest of the groups had taken off on their own, and it was now a race for who would arrive first. And at the speed of the moving vehicle, Erza was fairly determined to win.

However, it seemed that my car ride displeasures was not shared with my fellow passengers. Jack happily stuck his head out of the door window, letting the wind slide past him violently, all while hollering, "Woo! This is awesome!"

I looked at him quizzically. It was as if the boy had never rode in a car before. Perhaps he was just fascinated by the way the animated world seemed to zoom by, just like a cartoon? I had already grown used to the weird ways of the world, and didn't pay much mind to it anymore. Physically impossible feats were now a daily occurrence, you saw things that made little to no sense scientifically at every corner, and I could have sworn, the more pair of breasts and set of abs that I saw, the more my vision seemed to be impaired. How could teenagers even look like that?! It's surreal! And it was slowly luring my self esteem into a deep, unforgiving pit of quicksand.

But anyways, I couldn't help but smile. He was awfully cute, many in Fairy Tail were, but he held an almost childlike playfulness about him that no one else had. That's what I so adored about my team: everyone had their own special qualities and personas, ones that you could never find back home. It was like we were meant to be brought together.

Forsythia smiled sympathetically at the limpid boy beside me. "Hang in there, Nastu! We're almost there!"

His only reply was a tortured gurgle. I felt sorry for the greened-over teenager, with what little capacity for sympathy my body held. After all, this _was _Dragneel we were talking about. He could be a real asshole to me, at times.

The car violently jumped, again, and call it an act of karma, my body went soaring forward, into the space between Jack and Forsythia. I could feel the crunching of my bones as and the mutilated groaned slip between my teeth as I slunk to the floor.

"Aspen! Are you okay?" Happy asked me, peering over the edge of the seat.

"Yes, just fine, the wall was there to catch me."

"Oh, that's a relief."

"That was sarcasm you stupid cat—"

Jack huddled his way back into our presence, hair completely ruffled and glasses, as per usual, crooked. He looked down on me. "Uh, what did I miss?"

I pulled my body upwards, half aware but choosing to ignore my bloodied face, and barked, "ERZA! Will ya please stop bangin' us around?! You're gonna get us killed!"

Happy, for once, stood by my side. "Yeah, Erza, you already managed to wound Aspen!"

Of course, when did the great Titania take orders from anyone but herself? "Whoever gets to the beach first wins," she replied, her voice holding authority and seriousness. "We must not lose!"

I rolled my eyes. _Why listen to the measly, peasant-like, new girl Aspen? Why don't we all just dub everything she says as nonsense? WHY DON'T WE ALL JUST TAKE HER FOR GRANTED. WHY THE HELL NOT, AT THIS POINT. _

I sighed, indulging in the affections and worries poured out by my two team members as we tried to nurse my twisted face back to normality.

"She's out to kill me..."

"That's Erza for ya!" Happy chirped with a surplus of enthusiasm.

"Ah, Happy, please do not say that so positively..."

_~Meanwhile, in another magic vehicle~_

"GRAY! YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!"

"What? No, I'm—oh, crap!"

"E-everyone just calm down!"

"E-eh?! My pigtail is stuck in the door-!"

"Wendy! How did you even..."

"..."

"GUYS, I MADE MY FAVORITE COMB DISAPPEAR AND IT'S NOT COMING BACK."

"...huh...how will I get Camden-sempai to notice me..."

"What is even going on right now..."

"**EVERYONE BE QUIET. YOU HAVE BEEN SILENCED."**

And indeed, they were. The only vibrations in the air were those coming from the rubber that furiously burned against the ground. Gray uneasily stiffened from where he shirtlessly drove the car. Carle paused her pulling on Wendy's stuck pigtail. Felicity and Lin both leaned away from Lily fearfully, and Camden and Lucy straightened their backs, sitting up, intimidated. As for Nightmare, well, he was Nightmare. He unemotionally remained frozen where he lay, which happened to be on the floor, with his legs pressed against his chest.

Aspen thought she had it bad? Try being stuck in a single vehicle with eight passengers, excluding the driver.

"Ah, that's better." Lily delicately placed her hands in her lap and smiled sweetly. _Too sweetly. _"Camden?"

"Oh, um, yeah, here."

Camden, using his magician skills, spawned a fine china teacup that was splashed with pastel decoration and full of steaming green tea. Lucy and Wendy watched him in amazement. Where in the world did he get that from...?

Lily grabbed it from him, taking a tiny sip. "Mmm. Wow. Isn't this nice, everyone?" She sighed delightfully. "Let's keep the vehicle this silent until we reach the beach."

"But we—"

"**Ah." **Lily's sternly scolded.

"Sorry, sorry..."

And so, a combination of Lily's frequent sips, the car wheezing, and a partially uncomfortable silence was all that could be heard.

* * *

><p>The car came to a stop. "We are here. And it looks like we're the first to arrive, as expected."<p>

All of us passengers spilled out of the vehicle, trying to not trip over ourselves. "We made it!" Jack and I cried. "Thank the Lord!"

"Is this what every ride is like?" Jack asked me curiously.

I laughed, nodding. "Yeah, sorta."

"Yes, things have gotten very...interesting since your arrival, Aspen. Even more so than before." Forsythia brushed at the speckles of Aspen Blood that stained her clothing, only smearing it further. She simply sighed.

Happy dragged Natsu out by the collar, not seeming to care as the boy's body scraped against the unruly earth floor. "Come on, Natsu, pull yourself together!"

"That was horrible..."

I looked out at the scenery in front of me, only to see brilliant honey butter sands. And beyond those, a large spilling of liquid sapphire that seemed endless as it drowned horizon. I grinned. I'd only seen the ocean in person a handful of times, and that was as a small child. Cartoon or not, this was the most gorgeous beach I'd ever seen, and I was going to make the most out of my time there.

"Wow! This is awesome! Don't you guys think?!"

"What? It's just the ocean. Did you forget about that, too?" Natsu countered sassily. I contemplated brawling with him, but decided my time was too precious for fighting with Rosebud.

"I think it's beautiful! The water matches Forsythia's hair color!" Jack pointed out. Forsythia flushed and shook her head.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I tugged at my teammates' hands, but was stopped short by Erza.

"Aspen, are you forgetting? We have to put you into a bathing suit."

"...u-uh, okay, if you say so!" I reluctantly let her pull Forsythia and I away into the brush, where we would be protected from the wandering eyes of our male friends.

"Hey! What about us, Erza?" Natsu barked.

"You will have to make do."

And with that, I was left to Erza's command, and the boys were left to fend for themselves.

* * *

><p>Gray's vehicle came next, surprisingly. At the speed they were going, and the amount of times that they steered off course, it was a miracle they even reached the beach at all.<p>

"The party has arrived, peasants!" Claimed the ever fabulous Felicity as she gracefully stumbled out of the car and fell to the ground.

Lucy carefully dipped a foot into the breeze and exited the vehicle. "Ah, finally...that was hellish," She rubbed at her sore body, soothing the aches with her hands. "I didn't think it was possible to fit so many people into one car." Gray, hopping down from the front of the car, stretched his muscled arms and stood beside her.

"Well, so much for us winning."

Wendy pouted as she hugged her lengthy pigtail to her chest with Carle following behind her. "Are you okay, Wendy?"

"Yes...owie..."

Lily and Lin came out one after the other, with the latter cowering from the former uneasily, still slightly traumatized from her outburst.

And finally, Camden and Nightmare quietly strolled out, hands in pockets and faces nonchalant. "Heh. Those two are definitely something, huh." Camden noted, eyeing the couple.

"I suppose so."

The blonde boy looked at Nightmare, puzzled. "You really don't like to talk much, do ya?"

"...no."

Camden just laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "Right..."

Before the crowd walked Jack, Natsu, and Happy, shirtless and ready to party. As they didn't have any actual suits to wear, they simply discarded their shirts and shoes, using their pants as substitutes. Natsu had tied his scarf around his head, bandana-style, and Jack held his glasses in his hand, revealing dark slate blue eyes. Both showed off excellent sets of bodies.

Almost immediately, Felicity wailed out as blood began to rush through her nose. Lucy winced as she hit the floor with a bumf, for the second time, and a concerned Wendy asked if she wanted to be healed. Lily rolled her eyes, unaffected by the gleaming eye candy.

"Ha! We got here before you," boasted Natsu. "Take that, Gray! You're even a loser when it comes to driving."

"Che. Whatever. Don't get me started, you raging flame-head. Besides, where's everyone else? Didn't you go with Erza and Aspen?"

Natsu looked up and scratched at his hair, his eyebrows furrowed, struggling to remember where the females had run off to. "Uh..."

Happy easily recalled their whereabouts. "Oh, Erza dragged off Forsythia and Aspen to get them dressed!" He giggled wickedly, imagining the torture Aspen was enduring at that moment. When it came to torture, Erza was first rate. Especially dress up wise. "They're going to look sexy~"

Nightmare cocked his head. Something of a peculiar curiosity tickled him. Sexy? He wasn't in any position to say, but by his standards, sexy meant sexually arousing. A sensation he was not overly familiarized with. To imagine the obnoxious, childish Aspen being sexy was ridiculous to him. But even so, situations like rape or harassment fluttered into his mind. Back at home, there was quite a bit of that all around town, but his lack of emotion prohibited him from caring. Now, though, the idea of something like that happening to Aspen made him feel weird. A bad weird. He then decided that he couldn't let anything bad happen to her. It was the least he could do, he figured. She was chaotic enough already.

"Well, let them have their fun, what are we waiting for?" Gray grinned, running towards the ebbing blue waters. Having intelligently brought swim wear _with _them, everyone had no need to hesitate and strip down to their swim suits. They cheered and followed him, breezing through the grainy, golden terrain and leaping into the ocean. The sun rained a party of rays and shine upon the beach, and the sky was right nearly spotless, save for a few speckles of wandering clouds. Aspen couldn't ave chosen a better day for a venture to the beach.

Eventually, the other members of Fairy Tail made their appearance, one way or another. Levy had made Gajeel tag along with her, Jet, and Droy by hiking over a few hills and mountains. It was a bit more dangerous and drawn out than they had expected. Cana, Juvia, Laki, and Bisca had grouped up and tried taking a shortcut, but like Gray, they'd ended up getting miserably lost. The Thunder God Tribe had, of course, gone together and stated that their journey was an easy one. Mirajane, Elfman, and Makarov had gone together, taking a simple route through the town, but the Master was constantly getting distracted by beautiful woman that they passed. But even so, within some minutes, dozens of Fairy Tail members were out and about on the beach. And to some people's suspicious, Forsythia, Erza, and Aspen had yet to make an appearance...

* * *

><p>"NO! NOOO! GET AWAY FROM ME! GWAH!" I sobbed, my screams of bloody murder going unheard beyond the wall of forest vegetation. "SOMEBODY HELP M—FWAGH!"<p>

I desperately grasped at a bamboo stick, but a mighty arm pulled me back, away from freedom.

Using her ex-quip magic, Erza had easily spawned a bathing suit for herself and Forsythia. The bluenette didn't seem to mind the revealing attribute of the suit, and Erza seemed more than used to it. They both said I would look 'so stylish' in mine. However, when I saw it, I begged to differ. This had been ten, no, thirty two times worse than the makeover. Because this time, the all-powerful Erza was trying to slip me into a bikini. If you could even call it that. What was supposed to be the 'concealing' part of it was just a tiny, paper thin triangle, no bigger than my palm. The strings were no ticker than threads, and to top it off, the bikini was a color of vivid _orange. __**AGAIN WITH THE ORANGE! **_And besides that, I didn't even think such a small thing could fit onto my thick body.

"Put it on, Aspen! You'll look amazing! I think the orange really accentuates your curves."

She roughly grabbed my arms and tried to force the top over my head. Oh, did I forget to mention how I was stripped against my will?

"FORSYTHIA, SAVE ME, FOR THE LOVE OF—"

"J-just put it on, Aspen!" She squealed back, her back turned so she wouldn't have to witness the horror that had been taking place for over ten minutes. "The sooner you wear it, the sooner you'll be free!"

But I couldn't. Beyond that wall of shrub lie the members of the guild. I couldn't just prance out in some skimpy bikini and still keep my womanly dignity intact, could I?

**NO.**

"Erza, please, isn't there _anything else_ that you could have me wear? ANYTHING?!"

Erza stopped, midst manhandling. She placed the bikini aside and seemed to think deeply.

"Well, there is _one_ thing I've been trying to get rid of for a while now..."

* * *

><p>Lucy shrieked as a wave crashed into her, completely soaking her body and hair. She parted her hair and looked towards where Natsu floated about the water in a bored manner.<p>

"Oi, this isn't any fun without Erza or Aspen...where the hell are they, anyway?"

"Do you think they're okay?" Lucy asked, shielding her eyes from the vicious sun. Droplets of moisture ran down her face and shoulders.

"Who knows, with Aspen. She's troublesome as hell, for an amnesiac."

Suddenly, three figures burst into the scene, slowly striding onto the sand for all to see. All of them were clad in swim wear, and most definitely rocking it. A large busted Erza and slenderly figured Forsythia both wore attractive and tantalizing bikinis, as expected. As for Aspen, well...

She bore a bright pink, dress-esque suit with a frilled skirt and a white lower layer. It wouldn't have been such an atrocious thing had the long, curved, neck and head of a swan not been protruding from beneath the skirt. Everyone stared at the girl in pitying awe.

Gritting her teeth, Aspen fought off the rising humiliation and choked out, "W-well, I don't see what you're all staring at. I think I look awesome."

She made for the water, wiggling her toes through the muddy sand and gasping as waves brushed past her feet. As she took a step forward to submerge herself further in the salty sea, but the sole of her foot took a wrong turn, and she went diving face first into the ground. Luckily, though, the forehead of an animal took the hit first, so she was now stuck, with a part of her dress dug deeply into the sand, her arms and legs flailing through the air.

"Hey, look, Aspen," Natsu laughed. "The swan broke your fall!"

"GAHHHHH!"

* * *

><p>An entire chapter consisting of the pursual of the beach. I'm sorry you all have to deal with my time-consuming writing style. As for the ending, if you watched the first OVA of the anime, you should know which outfit I was referring to. Although we're just going to pretend it was swim wear, rather than an actual dress. Part Two is coming soon!<p> 


	33. (Temporary?) Hiatus

Hello! So, as you've probably noticed, I haven't updated this story in over a year. Ahaha...my bad. I could list a dozen excuses, but if I'm being honest, I've lost interest in Fairy Tail and don't have any inspiration for this story. I can't tell you what's going to happen to this story, quite frankly, but I'm hoping this summer (by the end of this month, or so) I willbe able to start writing chapters again after abandoning you all for so long. I just wanted to put this chapter out there to let you know this story is officially on hiatus until further notice.

And, if I do end up writing again for this story (which I'm hoping I'll be able to, since I feel bad just leaving it abandoned), I plan on seriously changing things up - after all, in the time that I've been absent, my writing has definitely improved and I've thought up all sorts of crazy plot lines; so I'm not saying you should get excited or get your hopes up or anything, cause I can't make any promises, but if I do return to this story, I'm gonna put my all into it, and it'll be awesome. But, for now, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

- Avery


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